Lemieux released from hospital

Lemieux released from hospital, diagnosed with irregular heartbeat

By ALAN ROBINSON, AP Sports Writer
December 8, 2005
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Pittsburgh Penguins owner-captain Mario Lemieux was
discharged from a hospital Thursday after being diagnosed with atrial
fibrillation, an irregular heartbeat that can be treated with medication
and should not affect his career.

Lemieux, 40, was admitted to an undisclosed Pittsburgh hospital after
practice Wednesday, after complaining of an irregular heartbeat -- a
condition team general manager Craig Patrick said Lemieux has experienced
several times in recent weeks.

After being evaluated overnight, doctors diagnosed the problem and told
Lemieux he should rest and go on medication. He is expected to take it
easy for a week to 10 days, after which the team will determine when he
can resume play.

Patrick said the condition should not affect Lemieux's life in any way and
that the Hall of Famer should be able to return to the Penguins' lineup
relatively soon. Patrick said Lemieux can start on the medication
immediately and doctors do not expect any ill effects from it.

"We expect that he will be able to begin exercising in a matter of days
and return to the lineup in a brief period of time," Patrick said at the
team's practice Thursday morning.

Patrick said doctors aren't sure what brought on the condition, but that a
number of factors can trigger it, including stress.

Lemieux has had numerous medical problems since his career began in 1984,
including a bout with Hodgkin's disease in 1993 that was partly
responsible for him sitting out the 1994-95 season.

Lemieux also has been sidelined for long periods with back and hip
problems, and he missed two-thirds of the Penguins' 1990-91 Stanley Cup
championship season with severe lower back pain. After retiring for 3 1/2
years, he returned in December 2000 after buying the Penguins and has
played since, but missed large portions of the 2001-02 and 2003-04 seasons
with hip injuries.

Lemieux recently missed two games because of what the team described as
the stomach flu, but it was not immediately known if an illness that
lingered for several weeks was related to his latest problem.

The NHL's No. 7 career scorer has seven goals and 14 assists for 21 points
in 25 games this season, but recently had a four-game streak without a
point that was the longest of his career.

Last week, Lemieux missed a team practice so he could be examined by a
doctor. At the time, the team said the problem was related to his flu
bout.

"They kind of fit him in for a checkup," coach Eddie Olczyk said on Nov.
30. "He said he was feeling fine, and just wanted to make sure he's being
looked after."

Lemieux played in Pittsburgh's last game, getting an assist on Sidney
Crosby's goal -- his first point in five games -- during a 3-2 loss
Saturday to the Calgary Flames.

Lemieux, who captained Canada's 2002 Olympic gold medal team in Salt Lake
City even while playing with a badly injured hip, was to meet with Team
Canada general manager Wayne Gretzky on Saturday in Pittsburgh. With
Gretzky's Phoenix Coyotes on a six-day break until Sunday, Gretzky is
scouting possible members to play in the Turin Olympics next February.

Earlier this season, Lemieux said he didn't want to be picked on his name
alone, and that Canada would be better off taking a player such as the 18-
year-old Crosby if Lemieux wasn't playing up to Olympic caliber.

Lemieux got off to a relatively fast start despite being out for nearly
two years because of the hip injury and the NHL lockout, and had three
multiple-point games in his first 10. But he has only one goal and two
assists and is a minus-10 in his last 10 games.

For the season, Lemieux's minus-17 rating is the second-worst mark in the
NHL to teammate Mark Recchi's minus-19. By comparison, Lemieux was a plus-
55 while leading the NHL with 160 points during his cancer-interrupted
1992-93 season, despite missing a month for treatment.

Before this season began, Lemieux said he wanted to play a full season
uninterrupted by medical problems for the first time since his second
season in the league, 1985-86. But he has since said that, at his age,
it's probably wise to miss some games to avoid getting worn down.

Lemieux is seventh in NHL career scoring with 1,722 points, eight fewer
than No. 6 Steve Yzerman of Detroit. Lemieux is eighth in goals with 690.