Michigan State Coach Mark Dantonio suffers from heart attack
Michigan State Coach Mark Dantonio had a heart attack late Saturday night after his team’s overtime victory against Notre Dame.
Dantonio was admitted to the emergency room at Sparrow Hospital where he is expected to make a full recovery. Doctors had to insert a stent in a blocked artery near his heart immediately after the Spartans used an audacious fake field goal to win 34-31.
After Michigan State lined up for a 46 yard field goal that could have forced a second overtime, holder Aaron Bates threw a pass to Charlie Gantt for a winning touchdown.
Dantonio will be out indefinitely and offensive coordinator Don Treadwell will coach in his absence. Dantonio is expected t remain hospitalized for several more days until his recovery. The No. 25 Spartans play Northern Colorado on Saturday.
Dantonio has experienced a serious heart attack just at the age of 54.
Even though Dantonio had no known history of heart problems, but college football is known to take its toll on the health of its coaches.
"Stress doesn't cause coronary heart disease, but very stressful events can be a trigger," informed Dr. Chris D'Haem at a Sunday afternoon news conference in East Lansing, who performed the procedure on Dantonio.
D'Haem said heredity can play a huge part in heart problems, but noted that Dantonio kept himself in good shape and tracked factors such as cholesterol that could always lead to problems.
"Everybody that knows Coach Dantonio knows he keeps pretty fit," the doctor said.
D’Haem, who is an interventional cardiologist thoracic and Cardiovascular Institute and Sparrow, used a small metallic stent to open a blocked blood vessel leading to Dantonio’s heart during the common cardiac catheterization procedure. D’Haem says that
Dantonio had started experiencing symptoms of a heart attack shortly after midnight on Sunday.
"He is young, in excellent shape, and the damage to his heart was minimal," D'Haem said in a statement Michigan State released Sunday morning. "Coach Dantonio made the right decision to come in and get checked out immediately."
Treadwell vowed to take the wheel in his hands until the circumstances were totally under control and till his coach recovered completely.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with Coach D and his family," Treadwell said in the statement. "We wish him a full and speedy recovery, so he can rejoin us on the sidelines. In the interim, the vast majority of these coaching staff has been together for seven
years, so we won't miss a beat as we move forward and build upon the momentum of last night's thrilling victory."
Dantonio wasn’t the only coach to experience health problems. Florida Coach Urban Meyer was hospitalized with chest pains in December after his Gators lost the South-eastern Conference championship game to Alabama.
A couple weeks later, Meyer resigned citing health problems but after less than 24 hours, he took his resignation back.
Meyer was later diagnosed with oesophageal spasms, and he is still taking medication to fight the problem.
Northern Illinois Coach Jerry Kill was recently hospitalized because of dehydration, Mike Elston was released from the hospital after a viral illness and Norm Parker was hospitalized with complications from diabetes.
Mark Dantonio had just made the call of the year in college football and barely flinched. It’s amazing how life can change in a matter of hours.
Best wishes to Dantonio for a speedy recovery and return.
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