On Sunday, Oct. 2. JJ Watt, a defensive end player for the Arizona Cardinals of the NFL released a tweet mentioning that he went into A-Fib on Wednesday earlier that week, had his heart shocked back into rhythm the day after, and that he would be playing the day he tweeted it.

You may be wondering, what does it mean when your heart goes into A-Fib? A-Fib stands for Atrial fibrillation, when your heart goes into a rapid and irregular rhythm. Going into A-Fib increases your risk for stroke, heart failure, blood clots, and other heart-related problems.

“I was just told somebody leaked some personal information about me and it’s going to be reported on today. I went into A-Fib on Wednesday, had my heart shocked back into rhythm on Thursday and I’m playing today. That’s it,” Arizona Cardinal player JJ Watt’s tweet read.

ERHS Sophmore, Koda Carrasco said, “I mean that’s super cool, it’s insane that the body could just be shocked back to normal like that. Especially to recover so fast.”

And another interviewee, ERHS Sophmore, Eli Hammond said, ” The fact that the heartbeat was going so fast that it was irregular is quite shocking, but it’s also cool that it’s different!”

From both interviews, we can see just how taken aback both sophomores are and get a sense of how shocked everyone else must’ve been when hearing the news.

Some risk factors of going into A-fib to watch out for include, but aren’t limited to: Being 50 or older, alcohol use, stress, poor sleep or sleep apnea, tall height, and high blood pressure. Symptoms can also include chest pain, fainting, dizziness, weakness, and shortness of breath.

The Arizona Cardinals also happened to win their game against the Carolina Panthers that day, 26-16. So it’s good to say that JJ Watt’s health didn’t affect the team a whole lot.