'They are at higher risk': Area doctor says many athletes, like J.J. Watt, are prone to Afib

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- NFL star and Pewaukee native J.J. Watt shared his emotions after being treated for Afib.

"I've never been scared of surgery, I've never been scared of pain," Watt said. "When they told me they were gonna put me out and shock my heart, I was scared."

It's called Afib, or atrial fibrillation. It describes an irregular or very rapid heart rhythm. 

Watt needed his heart to be shocked back into rhythm. On Sunday, he wrote, "Had my heart shocked back into rhythm on Thursday and I'm playing today. That’s it."

In some cases, it can cause blood clots in the heart, leading to stroke or other major heart issues. 

Dr. Atul Bhatia, with Aurora St. Lukes, says when Afib is caught quickly, shocking the heart back into rhythm is a safe way to treat the condition, but that option only works best within 48 hours of going into Afib. 

He says while athletes typically have good heart health, that doesn't reduce their risk for Afib.

"Their heart is very, very trained, and they are at higher risk," said Dr. Bhatia. "They are more prone to develop atrial fibrillation, just because of the super trained heart. There are many, many individuals, in athletics, in the field of sports, who have this condition undiagnosed."

Afib is more common in older adults but it affects people of all ages, as a Waukesha family learned in the worst way a few years ago.

Michael Lermer is the director of the Kai Lermer Memorial Fund, named after his son who died in 2019. Michael said, "Losing a child is the worst thing you can imagine. Any parent will know that."

Kai died from an undiagnosed heart condition.

Michael says standard annual physicals only catch about 10% of those undiagnosed heart conditions, but EKGs detect up to 90% of heart conditions. "If we had been educated on the importance of EKG screenings, we definitely would have had a test done and Kai may have been here today if that was the case."

Lermer and his family have made it their mission to educate people about the importance of regular screenings for heart conditions like Afib.

Afib is the most common heart problem, according to cardiologists. It occurs when the upper chambers of the heart quiver, but do not contract.

Dr. Bhatia said, "Twenty-five to 30% of patients may not have any symptoms whatsoever. And the first presenting complaint would be a stroke. Which is very unfortunate."

Afib is the largest cause of strokes if undiagnosed and untreated. But more and better screening tools are leading to more diagnoses.

The Kai Lermer memorial fund offers free and low-cost EKG screenings in southeastern Wisconsin.

And Michael has a message for parents: "Get them an EKG test every two years. Demand it from your physicians."

Lermer said his end goal is simple: screen 'em all. He said he would screen every child in the state if they could, so as to not lose another child to an undiagnosed heart condition.

Dr. Bhatia recommends regular heart screenings for athletes and to pay close attention to any changes in heart rate.