2005 is the yr New Yorkers first was enthralled with “King Henrik.” That’s additionally the yr the then 23-year-old rookie goaltender for the National Hockey League’s New York Rangers discovered he suffered from aortic regurgitation, often referred to as a leaky aortic valve. For years, staff docs and cardiologists carefully monitored the situation of Henrik Lundqvist –dubbed King Henrik of Sweden by way of a sportswriter right through that halcyon yr –who helped develop into the Rangers right into a perennial Stanley Cup contender for 15 seasons.
“I received regular checkups and didn’t really think much about it. Everything was steady, and I was able to play at a high level,” states Henrik, 42, who was once inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2023 and was once the 11th participant in Rangers historical past to have his uniform quantity retired in 2022. “It was under control, until it wasn’t.”
It was once whilst present process a radical scientific exam by way of docs together with his new staff –the Washington Capitals, in December 2020 –Henrik won the surprising information his situation had critically worsened and was once now life-threatening. One of the cardiologists concerned knowledgeable Henrik he would wish open-heart surgical procedure to fix the issues. He beneficial one specialist for the operation: Eric Roselli, MD, cardiothoracic surgeon and Chief of Adult Cardiac Surgery at Cleveland Clinic.
According to Dr. Roselli, who every year plays about 325 surgical procedures involving the aorta, coronary heart and similar congenital problems, about 2% of persons are born with a malformed aortic valve. Only part of them even have an aortic aneurysm. Henrik had advanced each, requiring him to go through an aortic valve alternative, aortic root alternative and ascending aortic alternative to fix his leaky aortic valve and the aneurysm.
Henrik with Dr. Roselli (left) and Dr. Emery (proper) on the unlock of Henrik’s documentary “Open Heart.” (Courtesy: Henrik Lundqvist)
The surgical procedure was once important to avoid wasting his existence, and possibly, extend his skilled hockey profession. “As Henrik has shown, even if you have this diagnosis, it doesn’t have to completely alter your life. You can continue to stay active and exercise, as long as you’re being smart,” explains Dr. Roselli. “If you eventually need surgery, it doesn’t have to be scary. We perform these surgeries safely and effectively to help people get back to living an active life.”
Henrik sought after to satisfy his one-year contract with the Capitals, who many hockey analysts believed have been a most sensible goaltender clear of in all probability successful the Stanley Cup in 2021.
A couple of days after Dr. Roselli and his staff finished Henrik’s a hit 6-hour surgical procedure in January 2021, Henrik started to slowly, haltingly stroll the halls close to his clinic room. Every day introduced extra advances and hope his athletic profession would resume.
“You could feel the progress. It was small steps at first, but every milestone was a boost for my confidence,” remembers Henrik in “Open Heart,” a 74-minute documentary about his scientific and private adventure.
“I treated recovery as being hockey game-like, in a way. I would stay in the moment, not look too far ahead, and see the improvement,” Henrik provides. “Dr. Roselli left it up to me. If I did everything right, and recovered well, there was a possibility I could come back and play.”
Seven weeks after surgical procedure, Henrik was once again at the ice, skating and resuming gentle follow classes with the Capitals. But then, a surprising setback quashed his profession resumption plans.
As Henrik describes it, “I began feeling this terrible pain, in my chest and across my back.” Tests at Cleveland Clinic, days prior to he was once scheduled to transport to Washington, D.C., printed the perpetrator: pericarditis, an irritation of the protecting sac that surrounds the center. It generally is a facet impact on account of the frame’s immune reaction to the surgical procedure or in all probability a viral an infection.
Pericarditis is an irritation of the pericardium, the skinny, two-layered, fluid-filled sac that covers the outer floor of your coronary heart. (Courtesy: Cleveland Clinic)
Recovery from the situation will require weekly injections, in addition to no rigorous bodily workout for months or much more than a yr. After consulting together with his circle of relatives, Dr. Roselli, and a staff of cardiologists together with, Michael Emery, MD, and Allan Klein, MD, Henrik retired from hockey.
While dissatisfied, Henrik was once quickly at peace with the verdict he made to step clear of the sport he trustworthy his existence to since he and similar dual Joel, additionally an NHL veteran, have been little toddlers in Sweden. In the following 3 years, he has served as a TV analyst for Rangers declares and commentator nationally for community hockey protection. He could also be desirous about a number of entrepreneurial ventures and hosts a podcast referred to as “Club 30.” His uniform quantity with the Rangers was once 30. Most excitingly, he now has extra time to experience together with his spouse, Therese, and their daughters, Charlise and Juli, ages 11 and 9.
“When you’re a professional athlete, especially in a team sport, you’re a slave to the schedule,” explains Henrik, whose vertical scar down the center of his sternum is the one visual reminder of his surgical procedure. “The biggest change in your life when you retire is you are suddenly in charge of your own time. And that is a great feeling.”
Dr. Roselli –who satirically makes use of the moniker “Club 73” to consult with his staff and the working room they handled Henrik –believes Henrik has made an important have an effect on in serving to lift consciousness for different sufferers present process open-heart surgical procedure or experiencing a identical scientific adventure.
“Our goal all along was to protect his heart so he could have a long life, not just to get him back on the ice,” says Dr. Roselli. “We were able to treat his heart problem, and he’s doing great. He is going to be around for a long time, to see his little girls grow up, and experience all the important things in life.”
Related Institutes:
Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute (Miller Family)
