Among the details San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh revealed during his Friday news conference following a Thursday procedure to correct an irregular heartbeat:
Doctors performed a "cardiovert" to correct an accelerated heartbeat. There are electrical and pharmacologic versions of this procedure. Harbaugh underwent the electrical version.
Harbaugh underwent an "ablasion" procedure to correct the same condition while he was a player with the San Diego Chargers. He played with San Diego in 1999 and 2000. Harbaugh recalled missing a day or two of practices during training camp as a result.
Doctors recommended cutting down on caffeine intake and improving his diet overall. Harbaugh says he faces no restrictions affecting the time he spends coaching the team or his coaching style.
Harbaugh said he is "fine" and laughed when asked whether he might become a victim of "burnout" without toning down his approach.
Harbaugh, asked whether he might consider meditation to promote a regular heart rate, joked that he would make long-snapper Brian Jennings his "go-to guy" on that front. Looks like meditation isn't on the schedule, in other words.
Harbaugh underwent testing Wednesday night after sensing an accelerated heart rate. Doctors performed the cardiovert procedure at Stanford Hospital on Thursday in late morning. Harbaugh visited work Thursday, then went home. He caught up on game-planning from home Thursday night and from work Friday morning.
Harbaugh said the procedure did not cause him to "peel back the onion and get introspective" about life and death. Being away from work while players practiced and held meetings did lead him to revisit dreams Harbaugh and some NFC West bloggers have experienced. In these dreams, the dreamer becomes concerned after realizing he has failed to show up for a test or something else of great import. That's how Harbaugh said he felt while missing work.
