Raphael Dwamena, a Ghanaian international, died of a heart attack in the middle of a match on Saturday during the Albanian championship match between his club Egnatia Rrogozhine and Partizani. Considered a great talent in Ghanaian football at the start of his career, he had already suffered from numerous heart problems. Thus, he was unable to sign for the Brighton club in England in 2017 after heart problems were detected during the medical examination.
The player had heart surgery in 2020 and had a defibrillator implanted which should allow him to continue his career. Monday, in an open letter published on the website of the Herald of Aragonthe doctor who treated him upon his arrival in Zaragoza (Spain) returned to his patient’s heart problems.
“We managed to convince him of the need to implant a defibrillator to try to save his life, and at the same time we advised him not to play sports at a professional level,” explains Antonio Asso Abadia. He had a defibrillator installed and left Spain. We talked for a while, he asked me for advice, which I gladly gave, even though I was aware that he wasn’t listening to me: he wanted at all costs to continue his sporting career and I lost hope of being able to influence his decisions. »
The cardiologist adds that the Ghanaian then had his defibrillator removed: “A few years ago, they told me that during a match, the defibrillator saved his life by doing its job to stop a malignant arrhythmia , and about a year ago I learned that he had his defibrillator removed, in Switzerland if I’m not mistaken. He had decided to place all responsibility for his life in his own hands and those of God. From that moment on, I understood perfectly that one day the tragedy that occurred on Saturday in Albania would happen. »
According to Antonio Asso Abadia, if Raphael Dwamena had kept his defibrillator, he would still be alive today: “Raphael died following a personal decision, but if he had not removed the defibrillator, he would still be alive today. It was not someone who had a defibrillator who died, but someone who did not have one. »