PITTSBURGH — Doctors have made progress in understanding what’s causing Karns City quarterback Mason Martin to have episodes where his heart rate rapidly drops.
Mason’s father Denny first asked for prayers about the episodes on Saturday, explaining that his son was struggling with agitation while awake and rapid drops in heart rate and oxygen levels while asleep.
To snap Mason out of these episodes, doctors and nurses would rub his chest to stimulate regular breathing and sometimes give him oxygen.
Mason underwent an MRI, EEG and other tests. Afterwards, Denny says doctors learned Mason has an overactive vagus nerve, which is responsible for calming heart and breathing rates. When the nerve is overactive, it calms those functions too much and causes the episodes Mason’s struggling with.
Denny also say the issue appears to be related to increasing Mason’s beta blocker from twice a day to three times a day, which was done to help with the agitative episodes. Since reducing the beta blocker back to twice a day, Mason hasn’t had an extreme drop in his heart rate or oxygen levels.
“I cannot express how grateful I am for the staff here at Children’s Hospital. This has been a stressful situation for not only myself, but the nurses and staff as well. Trying to maintain a state of homeostasis with him is like trying to hit a moving target. I am hesitant to say the problem is solved, but for now he appears to be headed in the right direction,” Denny’s post reads in part.
Denny also thanks the public for their prayers and support.
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