Zach DeBoard was a key part of the Bloomfield basketball team’s success during the 2011-12 season, averaging 9.4 points per game. The senior felt he was in the best shape of his life.
Everything changed on March 13 during a pickup basketball game before varsity baseball practice.
“I jumped up to get a rebound and when I landed I felt so lightheaded like I was going to pass out,” DeBoard said. “I went to the corner by the three-point line and I threw the ball up because I knew I was about to pass out.”
DeBoard’s friend Jarrett Riker found coach Jon Mastin and brought him to the gym.
“As soon as I opened the door I saw him face down in the corner. It wasn’t a very nice thing to see,” Mastin recalled. “His head is tilted to the side so his face is towards me and his eyes were closed. His face was turning purple. I went over to him, called his name and he didn’t respond.”
When Mastin rolled DeBoard over on his back, DeBoard took a gasping breath and color returned to his face before the coach could begin CPR. An ambulance took DeBoard to Thompson Hospital.
Though doctors initially suspected that he had simply fainted, they later diagnosed DeBoard with Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Dysplasia (ARVD).
The son of Mark and Deborah DeBoard is no longer able to play team sports had an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) surgically installed in his chest. What’s scary is the 18-year-old had no signs that anything was wrong with him before the incident.
What is ARVD?
After the initial incident DeBoard said he continued to feel lightheaded and have chest pains. A trip to the emergency room led to the ARVD diagnosis. He was transferred to the University of Rochester Medical Center where he went under the care of Dr. David Huang, the director of the electrophysiology section of the Heart and Vascular Center.
“ARVD is a condition involving changes in the heart muscles,” Huang said. “The heart muscles have been replaced with scar or fatty tissue. This isn’t the fatty tissue we think of when people have a high fat, high cholesterol diet, this is likely a genetic condition.”
The fatty or scar tissue can disrupt the electrical system of the heart which can cause patients to be vulnerable to dangerous heart problems.
DeBoard was scheduled for surgery to implant the ICD on April 26, but became sick before then. Doctors pushed the surgery up to April 13. The ICD is similar to an automated external defibrillator and will protect DeBoard in the case of an emergency.
Zach DeBoard was a key part of the Bloomfield basketball team’s success during the 2011-12 season, averaging 9.4 points per game. The senior felt he was in the best shape of his life.
Everything changed on March 13 during a pickup basketball game before varsity baseball practice.
“I jumped up to get a rebound and when I landed I felt so lightheaded like I was going to pass out,” DeBoard said. “I went to the corner by the three-point line and I threw the ball up because I knew I was about to pass out.”
DeBoard’s friend Jarrett Riker found coach Jon Mastin and brought him to the gym.
“As soon as I opened the door I saw him face down in the corner. It wasn’t a very nice thing to see,” Mastin recalled. “His head is tilted to the side so his face is towards me and his eyes were closed. His face was turning purple. I went over to him, called his name and he didn’t respond.”
When Mastin rolled DeBoard over on his back, DeBoard took a gasping breath and color returned to his face before the coach could begin CPR. An ambulance took DeBoard to Thompson Hospital.
Though doctors initially suspected that he had simply fainted, they later diagnosed DeBoard with Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Dysplasia (ARVD).
The son of Mark and Deborah DeBoard is no longer able to play team sports had an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) surgically installed in his chest. What’s scary is the 18-year-old had no signs that anything was wrong with him before the incident.
What is ARVD?
After the initial incident DeBoard said he continued to feel lightheaded and have chest pains. A trip to the emergency room led to the ARVD diagnosis. He was transferred to the University of Rochester Medical Center where he went under the care of Dr. David Huang, the director of the electrophysiology section of the Heart and Vascular Center.
“ARVD is a condition involving changes in the heart muscles,” Huang said. “The heart muscles have been replaced with scar or fatty tissue. This isn’t the fatty tissue we think of when people have a high fat, high cholesterol diet, this is likely a genetic condition.”
The fatty or scar tissue can disrupt the electrical system of the heart which can cause patients to be vulnerable to dangerous heart problems.
DeBoard was scheduled for surgery to implant the ICD on April 26, but became sick before then. Doctors pushed the surgery up to April 13. The ICD is similar to an automated external defibrillator and will protect DeBoard in the case of an emergency.
“Because he had a clinical event, the passing out episode, is an indication that he likely had some dangerous arrhythmia and it probably stopped on its own,” Huang said. “It suggests to us that he has a pretty good chance that he may have these episodes again.”
DeBoard said it’s scary living with the condition.
“I’ve gotten used to it,” he said. “I can’t do too much physical activity. I try not to worry about it.”
“As an 18 year old you don’t expect anything like that to happen,” Riker said. “You almost feel like you’re invincible. When something that serious happens it makes you really think.”
Living differently
Huang said exercise can worsen the condition and lead to more heart problems. DeBoard has been directed to avoid vigorous exercise. He can play golf, bowl, shoot baskets or throw a Frisbee around, but team sports and weight lifting aren’t allowed. DeBoard’s heart rate must remain under 140 beats per minute.
However, even the less vigorous activities aren’t easy.
“You really have to limit his activity,” Mark DeBoard said. “Golf is something he can play, but last time he tried to play he couldn’t finish nine holes. We’re hoping he can get past that and try to play golf. It certainly is a life-changing experience.”
It’s a dramatic change for DeBoard who played sports year round. He played baseball, basketball, soccer and golf for Bloomfield. It also rules out the possibility of playing college sports.
Deborah DeBoard has been unable to find any support groups in the Finger Lakes area for people his age with the same or similar conditions. Most people with ICDs installed are much older than DeBoard.
Prevention
Huang said ARVD is difficult to diagnose before symptoms arise. There is a series of tests that DeBoard went through before he was diagnosed.
“The most important thing is when people pass out playing sports it’s a very serious condition and medical attention should be sought,” the doctor said. “Someone like Zach could have a serious condition and if it’s not treated it’s life threatening.”
Zach’s future
In the fall, DeBoard is going to study business administration at Finger Lakes Community. He wants to later attend Rochester Institute of Technology or Alfred University for environmental engineering.
DeBoard feels he is lucky to have survived the incident, however, he said everything that happened has motivated him.
“All the energy I had for sports I’m going to put toward school, getting a good job and being successful.”
