Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh left the sidelines in the middle of the team’s game on Sunday due to what he said afterward was an “atrial flutter,” in which his heartbeat went out of rhythm.
Harbaugh, 60, went to the medical tent on the team’s sidelines during the first quarter of the Chargers’ 23-16 road win over the Denver Broncos. He returned to coaching the game later in the first quarter after Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter had stepped in as the interim coach while Harbaugh was being treated.
Harbaugh’s brother, Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh, abruptly left the team’s postgame press conference after being informed that Jim had experienced a health issue during the Chargers game.
Here’s what to know about Harbaugh’s absence from the game.
What happened to Jim Harbaugh during the Chargers game?
The veteran coach said in the postgame press conference that he experienced a form of heart arrhythmia that he has experienced in the past. He also said the same thing to CBS sideline reporter AJ Ross during the game.
“Everything ended up turning out to be OK,” he said at the press conference. “I deal with this, I guess, minor (problem), it’s called atrial flutter. I got into an episode today with it. Doctors checked me out, and it got back into sinus rhythm, normal rhythm. So I came back.”
An arrhythmia can cause the heart to beat too slow, too fast or erratically, according to the American Heart Association.
Premature beats can occur often or in rapid succession that cause the “fluttering” sensation Harbaugh referred to in the press conference. The term “sinus rhythm” Harbaugh used refers to the heart’s normal rhythm.
Harbaugh said he “could tell there were some irregular beats going on” in his heart during the game. He said he was given intravenous fluids and an EKG test by the Chargers’ athletic training staff.
“I know a lot about it, so I just wanted to see what the pulse was,” Harbaugh said. “I’m not good at taking my own pulse. So they just took the pulse, and it was in the arrhythmia. But I felt like we were good, and then they just said, ‘No, we need to get an EKG.’
“Trust the doctors,” he continued. “If you’re not going to trust your doctors, who are you going to trust? I’ve always thought that. And then came back into the locker room and the paramedics came and did an EKG. They said it was back to sinus rhythm, and I said, ‘I feel good.’ So got back out there on the field.”
Harbaugh returned to the sideline to coach the remainder of the game.
Does Jim Harbaugh have a history of heart issues?
The former San Francisco 49ers coach said he has experienced arrhythmia issues before.
“I’ve had a couple ablations, one in 1999 and one in 2012,” he said. “And I’ll always remember the one in 2012 because it was during the Monday night game, Colin Kaepernick and the 49ers versus the Chicago Bears, and Colin had a great night that night.
“After the game, got checked out and ended up having to have an ablation for that one because it didn’t go back into rhythm.”
Harbaugh joked that after that 49ers game in 2012 and Sunday’s game against the Broncos, he is “2-0 with arrhythmias.”
An ablation is a procedure in which radiofrequency energy similar to microwave heat destroys an area of heart tissue causing irregular heartbeats and helps restore the heart’s natural rhythm, according to the AHA.
“I kind of started feeling it last night,” Harbaugh said. “But wasn’t really sure. But, yeah, somewhere after pregame warmups. Just like it was in 2012. It was like during the pregame warmup I kind of started feeling it.
“And I haven’t felt it since 2012. It hasn’t happened. But the one in ’99, 13 years later had to have the procedure done again, so I figured I was getting close to the 13-year mark and was going to need another one at some point.”
John Harbaugh left his press conference after hearing about his brother
Jim Harbaugh said that Chargers general manager Joe Hortiz reached out to Jim’s brother, John, and told him about Jim’s situation. John then called their parents to inform them.
The Baltimore Ravens’ 30-23 win over the Washington Commanders had concluded while the Chargers game was still being held. John Harbaugh was making postgame remarks when he was told about Jim leaving the sideline.
John then abruptly exited the press conference and made a call to check on his brother, according to The Athletic.
The brothers are very close and have both been longtime football coaches. They famously coached against each other in the Super Bowl in 2013 when John’s Ravens defeated Jim’s 49ers in a 34-31 thriller.