The concern of Heart health for athletes certainly hits home with North Bay native Nick Laporte.
The 24-year-old North Bay native, who was playing pro hockey in the Czech Republic, is back home awaiting surgery to repair an irregular heart beat very similar to the procedure Dallas Stars forward Rich Peverley received on March 18th to help repair his irregular heart beat.
The Peverley incident occurrred during a Stars vs. Blue Jackets game back in March 10th when he collapsed on the bench and was rushed to an area hospital. The incident shocked players and coaching staff and the game itself was postponed.
Like Peverley, the signs of an issue came up before, but was never told he needed surgery.
In 2011, when Laporte was playing for the Thousand Island Privateers of the Federal Hockey League, indications of a problem showed up during a game.
“I went out for a shift and could hardly breathe, my heart was going all kinds of crazy,” said Laporte.
“It was nothing life threatening. I went to hospital and was told it was over exertion and I took some time off and eventually my heart beat returned to normal. I got that checked out later on and I was told there was nothing irregular and went about my business and never had a concern from doctors later when I had physicals completed. “
In early December 2013, Laporte was playing for SHK Hudonin of the Czech 2nd Division Pro Hockey League, and went through a similar incident.
This time it was worse.
“In the 3rd period of the game, I took a deep breathe and it happened again, but it was different,” said the former North Bay Jr. Skyhawks defenceman.
“I knew what to expect, I didn’t panic. I went to the bench and told the team doctor I had a heart issue.”
Laporte left the game and was taken to a local hospital.
The language barrier became a real challenge in the Czech hospital along with the fact that he was given an injection that he was allergic to.
After a day in the hospital, Laporte’s heart wasn’t responding to the medication, so they needed to use a defibrillator to get it back on track.
“I was held for half a day after that to make sure I was okay and the doctors told me I had arterial fibrillation, the same condition as Rich Peverely,” said Laporte.
With his season over, Laporte was given the option to seek medication or have surgery. Laporte elected to fly back home to North Bay on December 22nd and seek treatment back in Ontario.
On March 28th, Laporte will find out during a video conference from Sudbury when he will have the 2-hour heart procedure which he says should repair the damage and allow him to resume his hockey career.
He does believe his story and the Rich Peverley incident show there needs to be more heart health awareness, even for professional athletes.
“Everyone should have a heart check up in general,” says Laporte.
“I went to 3 or 4 training camps and it wasn’t picked up until this last incident in the Czech Republic. Be aware of things like that, even if you are a conditioned athlete.”
Laporte, who finished his first pro season overseas with 4 goals and 5 assists in 17 games during his shortened season, is optimistic he will have successful surgery and get back on track with his hockey career.
He's already been approved by doctors to resume light workouts and even allowed to skate again.
If all goes well with the procedure likely to take place this spring, Laporte says he’s got a couple Czech Division 1 tryouts and possibly another option to play pro in Russia through former NHLer German Titov.
The 6’4”, 190 pound converted forward has fought through adversity before, defying the odds to make a powerful North Bay Skyhawks Jr. A team in 2008-2009 along with twin brother Will.
“I would say it’s another speed bump to get through. At first I was kind of ‘why me, why another hurdle,’ but since then I’ve been optimistic with my recovery and I’m back to training without anymore health issues.”
