There has been much speculation about what caused 18-year-old Bronny James to go into cardiac arrest on July 24. Elon Musk and Chael Sonnon both garnered outrage through unsubstantiated speculation. Musk used the incident to push an anti-vax conspiracy theory linking the COVID-19 vaccine to increased risks of myocarditis in young men. Meanwhile, Sonnen claimed that it was a result of Bronny using steroids.
What we do know is that Bronny was taken to hospital after collapsing during training at USC's Galen Center. He was removed from the ICU after a few hours and is currently in "stable condition." The James family have asked for privacy at this time but also said they would provide an update in due course.
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Cardiologist Suggests Congenital Condition Caused Bronny James Cardiac Arrest
Speaking with The Orange County Register, Dr. Ernst von Schwarz suggested that Bronny's cardiac arrest could be the result of a congenital condition. “It is a condition,” von Schwarz said. “There’s different causes for it, but usually there is an underlying, often congenital condition – meaning the people, the athletes are born with it, and that, especially during heavy physical activity, can lead to an arrhythmia which equals cardiac arrest and the vast majority die of that.” Furthermore, Dr. von Schwarz implied it could be career-ending. “Those who survive have to do certain measures to prevent it from happening again. If it’s hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, those people often need medication. They often need defibrillators implanted because it’s a lifelong condition, inherited, which cannot be cured. It can be dealt with, but the person has to deal with it lifelong and often times that can mean it’s over with competitive sports.”
It's important to note that Dr. von Schwarz is not Bronny's attending cardiologist and is simply giving an opinion based on his medical knowledge and the available information. At this time, no information has been officially released about what caused Bronny's cardiac arrest. It's likely the cause is still under investigation by his medical team. That also means there is no way to tell what impact this will have on his basketball career. We sincerely hope that Bronny is able to recover in due course.
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