Lemieux Hospitalized With Irregular Heartbeat

Results of tests will determine if and when he returns to Penguins' lineup

Thursday, December 08, 2005
By Dave Molinari, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Mario Lemieux, the Penguins' player-owner, has faced a variety of health problems since early in his professional career.

Yesterday, he added a new chapter to his medical history.

Lemieux, 40, was hospitalized because of an irregular heartbeat. Penguins officials announced that he was to stay in the hospital overnight, but gave no indication when he would be discharged.

The Penguins did not release which local hospital Lemieux was being treated.

Lemieux participated in the Penguins' practice at Mellon Arena with no apparent problem -- "Nothing," coach Eddie Olczyk said -- but the problem that led to him being hospitalized surfaced shortly after the workout ended.

"Mario experienced an irregular heartbeat after practice today, and we thought the best precaution was to have him enter the hospital for observation," general manager Craig Patrick said.

Olczyk learned that Lemieux was having a problem about an hour after practice, during a visit to the team's training room.

His immediate reaction, aside from concern for Lemieux, was to wonder if he had overlooked any signs during practice that Lemieux was ailing. He could not come up with any, but acknowledged that Lemieux's ailment was cause for introspection.

"It stops you right in your tracks," Olczyk said. "You just kind of take a step back."

Lemieux was immediately ruled out of the Penguins' game against Minnesota at 7:38 p.m. today at Mellon Arena. When -- and whether -- he'll be able to resume playing depends on what tests determine about the nature and severity of his condition.

At this point, however, that is a secondary consideration for his friends and co-workers.

"First and foremost is to get him back to feeling good," Olczyk said. "To find out what happened, what's wrong."

Lemieux, who missed two games this season because of what team officials described as a stomach virus, is the Penguins' fourth-leading scorer, with seven goals and 14 assists in 25 games.

Health problems have forced Lemieux to miss 377 games since he entered the NHL in the fall of 1984. He survived a bout with Hodgkin's disease in 1993, back problems that bothered him for about a decade and a hip injury that required corrective surgery early in 2003.

He was inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1997, and became the Penguins' primary owner when the franchise came out of bankruptcy two years later.

(Dave Molinari can be reached at 412-263-1144.)

Lemieux released from hospital

Thursday, December 08, 2005
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Penguins player/owner Mario Lemieux, who entered a hospital yesterday with an irregular heartbeat, was released from the hostpital this morning.

His condition has been diagnosed as atrial fibrillation, which team General Manager Craig Patrick characterized as "a relatively common condition that can be treated with medication."

Mr. Patrick said Mr. Lemieux is scheduled to be exercising "in a matter of days and can return to the lineup in a brief period of time."

No specific time has been set for his return.

Patrick said Lemieux has has several episodes of this condition since mid-summer, but doctors could not determine the nature of the problem until after he was admitted to the hospital yesterday.

The Penguins face the Minnesota Wild at 7:30 tonight at Mellon Arena.