Putting their hearts into it - The health risks affecting our managers
23 Nov 2009 - 13:53:10
News emerged on Saturday that Blackburn Rovers manager Sam Allardyce would miss his side's visit to Bolton Wanderers in order to undergo an operation on a coronary artery.
The procedure, known as an angioplasty, is designed to widen the artery using an artificial tube, allowing more blood and oxygen to flow to the heart.
The former Newcastle boss 'complained of brief episodes of chest discomfort' according to his club and it was only then discovered that one of his arteries had narrowed and would require surgery.
The 55 year old is now expected to miss the midweek fixture at Fulham and next week's visit to Stoke but he should return in time for the League Cup quarter-final with Chelsea on December 2nd.
- Allardyce to have surgery
Although the news came out of nowhere, football managers experiencing heart problems is unfortunately a well-documented and substantial problem, especially in the Premier League.
In recent years, several high-profile bosses have been struck down with health issues, with their life-consuming, high pressure jobs blamed as a 'recipe for potential disaster' by Dr Dorian Dugmore, one of the world's leading cardiovascular experts.
Legendary Scottish manager Jock Stein died of a heart attack during a Wales-Scotland game in 1985 while fellow Scots Graeme Souness and Sir Alex Ferguson have both undergone heart surgery.
Crewe's Dario Gradi had a heart valve replaced in 2003 while former Liverpool chief Gerard Houllier underwent major cardiac surgery in 2001 after being taken ill at half-time during his side's home clash with Leeds United.
Joe Kinnear and Barry Fry (twice) have both suffered non-fatal heart attacks during their time as managers.
With an increasing number of managers suffering heart-related illness, Dr Dugmore set out in 2001 with the goal of researching how the characteristics of a manager's job could contribute to health problems as well as how many English managers were being affected.
His findings were both surprising and worrying in equal measure.
By early 2005 he had come to the conclusion that 44 per cent of English managers had 'significant cardiovascular risk factors, some needing immediate attention.'
After more than two years of painstaking research, Dugmore identified a number of common conditions in managers including aortic stenosis (the narrowing and hardening of the heart's main outflow valve), ventricular ectopy (an irregular heartbeat arising from the main chambers), high blood pressure and dangerous levels of cholesterol.
Although Dugmore began the research for these findings in 2003, his first foray into the health of the country's managers began in 2001 when he subjected Allardyce and Dave Bassett to stress testing during a Premier League game.
The Rovers boss, currently waiting to undergo heart surgery later this week, was found to have a resting heart rate of 46 bpm and a rate of 146 bpm under maximum stress on a treadmill.
However during a relegation clash with Leicester City while manager of Bolton, big Sam's heart rate rose to 162 bpm. His blood pressure and cholesterol levels also rose significantly.
The results of these tests, added to Dr Dugmore's later findings, saw him set up the 'Fit to manage' programme four years ago, an initiative designed to regularly monitor and advise managers on nutrition, exercise, and lifestyle changes such as smoking cessation and alcohol reduction.
The programme is still running successfully to this day and with expectations, pressure and financial issues continuing to raise the blood pressure of managers up and down the country, Dr Dugmore and his team could have a vital role to play in the health of our country's top bosses for years to come.
- Joe Strange
