The agent for New Jersey Nets forward Derrick Coleman said he may seek another medical opinion to confirm the diagnosis that his client has an irregular heartbeat.
The New York Times reported today that Harold MacDonald plans to speak with the team to get the names of the Boston heart specialists who examined Coleman last week."Everybody has only one heart," MacDonald said. "I just want to talk to the specialists and find out who they are just to be a little more comfortable with the whole thing. It is his heart and you want to make sure the diagnosis and treatment are correct."
Coleman was found to have a "minor heart irregularity" and will miss at least the first five games of the NBA season.
Coleman's problem was detected by the Nets' medical staff before training camp began Oct. 6, but he was cleared to practice. After a week, he was retested and sent to the specialists in Boston.
Two prominent basketball players died this decade because of heart problems - Hank Gathers of Loyola Marymount in 1990 and Reggie Lewis of the Boston Celtics in 1993. Both had myocarditis, a scarring of the heart muscle from inflammation. San Antonio's Terry Cummings controls an irregular heartbeat with medication.