After the tragic death of Black Stars player Raphael Dwamena, football enthusiasts have been questioning why he ignored doctors’ advice to retire from the sport.
It has been disclosed that the footballer chose to remove his defibrillator, leading to his sudden demise after only 23 minutes of play in the Albanian league.
Dr. Antonio Asso, Dwamena’s personal cardiologist, has faced intense criticism for permitting the player to remove the defibrillator. However, Dr. Antonio clarified that it was Dwamena’s personal decision to have the defibrillator removed a year prior to his untimely death.
Dr. Antonio emphasised that the defibrillator had previously saved Dwamena’s life when he experienced malignant arrhythmia.
Despite advising the player to quit football after that incident, Dwamena made the personal choice to remove the device, which ultimately had tragic consequences.
“He died as a result of a respectable personal decision. But if the defibrillator had not been explanted, Raphael would still be alive,” Dr Asso said, as quoted by the Daily Mail.
“We managed to convince him of the imperative need to implant a defibrillator to at least guarantee his life, at the same time that we advised against practising professional sports.”
The Spanish cardiologist added: “A couple of years ago, they told me that the defibrillator had saved his life when he had a malignant arrhythmia that had been correctly treated automatically by the device. We subsequently lost contact.
“From that moment on, I was aware that one day the tragedy that occurred on Saturday on a soccer field in Albania would happen.”
Source: The Independent Ghana