Lemieux hospitalized with irregular heartbeat

AK · 12-07-05, 10:12 PM

Wow he has did alot of the game of hockey.

Time to retire Mario

**bigboydan** · 12-08-05, 05:44 PM

Lemieux released from hospital, diagnosed with irregular heartbeat

By ALAN ROBINSON, AP Sports Writer
December 8, 2005
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Pittsburgh Penguins owner-captain Mario Lemieux was discharged from a hospital Thursday after being diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, an irregular heartbeat that can be treated with medication and should not affect his career.

Lemieux, 40, was admitted to an undisclosed Pittsburgh hospital after practice Wednesday, after complaining of an irregular heartbeat -- a condition team general manager Craig Patrick said Lemieux has experienced several times in recent weeks.

After being evaluated overnight, doctors diagnosed the problem and told Lemieux he should rest and go on medication. He is expected to take it easy for a week to 10 days, after which the team will determine when he can resume play.

Patrick said the condition should not affect Lemieux's life in any way and that the Hall of Famer should be able to return to the Penguins' lineup relatively soon. Patrick said Lemieux can start on the medication immediately and doctors do not expect any ill effects from it.

"We expect that he will be able to begin exercising in a matter of days and return to the lineup in a brief period of time," Patrick said at the team's practice Thursday morning.

Patrick said doctors aren't sure what brought on the condition, but that a number of factors can trigger it, including stress.

Lemieux has had numerous medical problems since his career began in 1984, including a bout with Hodgkin's disease in 1993 that was partly responsible for him sitting out the 1994-95 season.

Lemieux also has been sidelined for long periods with back and hip problems, and he missed two-thirds of the Penguins' 1990-91 Stanley Cup championship season with severe lower back pain. After retiring for 3 1/2 years, he returned in December 2000 after buying the Penguins and has played since, but missed large portions of the 2001-02 and 2003-04 seasons with hip injuries.

Lemieux recently missed two games because of what the team described as the stomach flu, but it was not immediately known if an illness that lingered for several weeks was related to his latest problem.

The NHL's No. 7 career scorer has seven goals and 14 assists for 21 points in 25 games this season, but recently had a four-game streak without a point that was the longest of his career.

Last week, Lemieux missed a team practice so he could be examined by a doctor. At the time, the team said the problem was related to his flu bout.

"They kind of fit him in for a checkup," coach Eddie Olczyk said on Nov. 30. "He said he was feeling fine, and just wanted to make sure he's being looked after."

Lemieux played in Pittsburgh's last game, getting an assist on Sidney Crosby's goal -- his first point in five games -- during a 3-2 loss Saturday to the Calgary Flames.

Lemieux, who captained Canada's 2002 Olympic gold medal team in Salt Lake City even while playing with a badly injured hip, was to meet with Team Canada general manager Wayne Gretzky on Saturday in Pittsburgh. With Gretzky's Phoenix Coyotes on a six-day break until Sunday, Gretzky is scouting possible members to play in the Turin Olympics next February.

Earlier this season, Lemieux said he didn't want to be picked on his name alone, and that Canada would be better off taking a player such as the 18-year-old Crosby if Lemieux wasn't playing up to Olympic caliber.

Lemieux got off to a relatively fast start despite being out for nearly two years because of the hip injury and the NHL lockout, and had three multiple-point games in his first 10. But he has only one goal and two assists and is a minus-10 in his last 10 games.

For the season, Lemieux's minus-17 rating is the second-worst mark in the NHL to teammate Mark Recchi's minus-19. By comparison, Lemieux was a plus-55 while leading the NHL with 160 points during his cancer-interrupted 1992-93 season, despite missing a month for treatment.

Before this season began, Lemieux said he wanted to play a full season uninterrupted by medical problems for the first time since his second season in the league, 1985-86. But he has since said that, at his age, it's probably wise to miss some games to avoid getting worn down.

Lemieux is seventh in NHL career scoring with 1,722 points, eight fewer than No. 6 Steve Yzerman of Detroit. Lemieux is eighth in goals with 690.

**bigboydan** · 12-15-05, 08:45 PM

Lemieux practices, expects to play Friday
Lemieux practices, expects to play Friday

By ALAN ROBINSON, AP Sports Writer
December 15, 2005
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Penguins owner-captain Mario Lemieux practiced Thursday, the first time since being hospitalized Dec. 7 with a rapid heartbeat, and expects to play Friday night against Buffalo.

Lemieux, who ranks seventh in scoring in NHL history, has missed four games since doctors determined he has atrial fibrillation, a fluttering of the heart that can be treated with medication.

The Hall of Famer had several episodes of rapid heartbeat earlier this year, and he recently missed two games with what the team said was the stomach flu. One of those times, he was being checked for the rapid pulse.

"I'm feeling good," Lemieux said Thursday after a busy day in which Penguins coach Eddie Olczyk was fired and replaced by Michel Therrien. "It's something I have to deal with for the rest of my life, but the medication takes care of that."

The 40-year-old Lemieux had a stress test Monday after doctors determined they had settled on the right formula for his medication. He skated twice earlier this week before practicing again with the team.

Before his recent layoff, Lemieux, who last played Dec. 3, looked noticeably sluggish on the ice, and he hopes he can start playing better now that the problem has been diagnosed.

"I feel a lot better, I don't feel as tired or as fatigued," he said. "I do feel a big difference, which is nice."

Despite not scoring a goal in eight games, Lemieux is fourth on the team in scoring with seven goals and 14 assists for 21 points in 25 games. He has one goal and two assists in his last 10 games, and recently played four consecutive games without a point for the first time in his career.

Lemieux is one of the top players in NHL history despite an ongoing series of medical problems.

He survived a bout with Hodgkin's disease in 1993, winning a scoring title even while missing a month of the season for cancer treatments. Before that, he couldn't play for two-thirds of the Penguins' 1990-91 Stanley Cup championship season because of a rare bone disease that occurred following back surgery.

After ending a 44-month retirement to resume his playing career in December 2000, he missed two-thirds of the 2001-02 season with a hip injury that required surgery and all but 10 games in 2003-04 for another hip injury that needed surgery.