Right around the start of the playoffs, when the Miami Heat were about to take on the Charlotte Hornets in the first round, Chris Bosh and his wife started a formal campaign to get Bosh back on the court. Bosh, who had been sidelined since the All-Star break, missed a big portion of the season for the second straight year due to reoccurring blood clots, but was confident and obviously eager to play while on his blood thinner treatment.
Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald gave an update on the clash this created between Bosh and the team:
According to a team source, the Bosh camp spent considerable time exploring the idea of Bosh continuing to take those blood thinners, but at a time of day (such as early morning) that the medication would be out of his bloodstream by game time.
Someone with knowledge of the situation said blood tests indicated the medication was out of Bosh’s system after 8 to 12 hours, which would significantly lessen the risk for Bosh playing. But the Heat and team doctors rejected that idea.
None of the doctors involved in Bosh’s case is commenting, but Robert Myerburg — an expert on treatment of athletes and a cardiologist at U-Health – said even though some of the newer blood thinners can be out of a patient’s system within 12 hours, “I would not use that strategy [that the Bosh camp explored]. There’s too much at risk.
“The drug being out of the system is not what worries me as much as the unprotected time” during games and other times when the blood thinner is out of his system, even more so if he’s subjected to trauma in an area where there was past clotting (in his leg and calf). He said patients with atrial fibrillation can sometimes be taken off thinners when they go on a skiing trip, but this is different.
Certain members of the Heat organization reportedly fear that Bosh may never even play again, which is clearly one of the worst case scenarios. The Heat’s medical staff was under heavy pressure here. If they jumped the gun and something were to happen to Bosh, it would be on them. They also bought themselves and Bosh a little more time to continue treatment and evaluate his condition further for next season, which they expect to have him ready for.
