Beloved Houston Texans running back Arian Foster is likely to undergo a heart procedure in about a month, according to NFL Network's Alex Flanagan.
Previously: Reason to panic?
Foster is considering an ablation (which John McClain defines as a surgical procedure involving catheter tubes intended to correct abnormal heart rhythms when medicine fails). Texans fans will recall that Foster's heart forced him out of the Week 16 embarrassment against the Minnesota Vikings.
According to Foster, he's he's been dealing with this issue since he was 12 years old and had about eight cases of a racing heartbeat. The Week 16 tilt was the first time it's happened during a game.
Interestingly, Arian isn't the first Houston superstar to deal with this condition:
Arian says the biggest side effect for him is shortness of breath. After experiencing that problem this season in a game he started discussing his options for fixing it with trainers and doctors. That's when he says he learned Hakeem Olajuwon suffered the same condition. The basketball player's doctors were able to determine that Olajuwon's trigger was drinking cold water. Arian has been searching for his trigger and tells me he's now thinking it might be releated to stress.
Coming off a season that saw him rush for 1,411 yards and 15 touchdowns, it's reasonable to believe that the condition didn't affect his on-field performance. Nevertheless, we're talking about a man's heart, and it's a large enough concern for the 26-year-old to consider going under the knife. Reaction?