Heart attack victim Garcia to retire from soccer
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Salamanca midfield player Miguel Garcia will have to give up playing soccer following the incident that almost cost him his life at the weekend, it was announced on Wednesday.
Garcia collapsed on the pitch after an hour of his side's home game against Betis. The 31-year-old had suffered a heart attack and the medical staff from both teams worked for eight minutes on the pitch in order to reanimate him.
Amid dramatic scenes in a game that was being shown live on national television, Garcia needed a defibrillator to help save his life, although had regained consciousness when the ambulance arrived to take him to hospital.
He spent two nights in the emergency unit before being allowed into a ward on Tuesday.
Tests carried out on the player for the second division club confirmed that he is now out of danger, but also that he will have to retire from the game due to a problem with one of his coronary arteries.
"He is in good shape. He is a strong player with a lot of courage and a lot of human qualities," said Salamanca Director of Sport, Balta.
"We are all happy because this shows us that there are more important things in life than just football."
Garcia's case is the latest in a line of coronary incidents involving players in Spain. Sevilla winger Antonio Puerta died of heart failure in 2007 after passing out in a game against Getafe, while Espanyol captain Daniel Jarque died of heart failure in his hotel room as his side were completing pre-season training in August 2008.
Real Madrid midfielder player Ruben de la Red had to give up the game after losing consciousness in a Copa del Rey game away to Real Union in October 2008, while Espanyol's former Sevilla defender Sergio Sanchez needed an operation after a heart anomaly was detected in him at the start of 2010.
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