Daniels to Have Heart Checked : Dodgers: Outfielder showed an irregular heartbeat in earlier examination and is being held out of spring training until doctors say he is all right.

Dodger outfielder Kal Daniels will undergo an examination by an Atlanta cardiologist today after a preseason test revealed an irregular heartbeat, according to Daniels.

Dodger officials confirmed Thursday that Daniels, scheduled to be a starter, is being held out of spring training pending results of today’s exam, which will include a treadmill test to monitor heart rhythms. Daniels took a similar test Monday in Los Angeles that detected abnormal rhythms.

“The test showed a variation from normal,” said Michael Mellman, Dodger team internist and one of Hank Gathers’ physicians before the Loyola Marymount college basketball star died March 4 because of a heart disorder. “We are just going to repeat the test on Kal. I do not suspect a problem, but, obviously, if I knew 100% that nothing was going on, we would not repeat the test.”

Daniels, speaking from his home near Macon, Ga., was upbeat, saying doctors had detected an irregular heartbeat but told him that the chances of such detection in a repeat test were slim.

“They told me I had an irregular heartbeat and that it was probably no big deal, but they just wanted to be safe than sorry,” said Daniels, 26. “They just want to double-check it for me. I’ll be driving down to spring training after the test, and as soon as they say it’s OK to play, I’m ready to go.”

Said Mellman: “The majority of such repeat tests . . . are normal. We suspect he is false-positive, meaning he is fine. We just want to be sure. The Dodgers’ top concern has always been the safety of its athletes.”

Three months before his death, Gathers collapsed on the basketball court and had a condition that was diagnosed as an irregular heartbeat.

“Is this something analogous to Gathers? No,” Mellman said.

Daniels said he told doctors he had no history of heart trouble, and that he has experienced nothing similar to Gathers’ collapse.

“I’ve had no side effects--no fainting spells, no chest pains, none of that stuff,” Daniels said. “That’s why this doesn’t scare me. I’m sure I’m normal.”

A club source, however, said that because of what happened to Gathers, the Dodgers are being extremely careful with what what would normally be an unpublicized test.

“With all that’s been happening, they are taking no chances,” the source said.

Mellman admitted this type of test has been performed without the public’s knowledge.

“In the past two years, another Dodger went through this and came out fine, and nobody knew about it,” Mellman said, refusing to name the Dodger. “This kind of thing is not completely unusual among professional athletes.”

Daniels was flown to Los Angeles last week, despite baseball’s lockout, for an examination of his surgically repaired right knee. As part of the exam, he took the treadmill test normally given to players at the end of the season. He could not take it earlier because of the knee problems. Doctors examined the results and contacted Daniels late Wednesday, the night before he was scheduled to drive to Vero Beach.

A second treadmill test is considered an early step in diagnosing heart conditions. If another irregular heartbeat is found, Daniels may undergo an echocardiogram or a Holter monitor test. If there are still irregularities, he would probably undergo one of several tests that involve entering the body, such as a cardiac catheterization.

An irregular heartbeat can be controlled with medication, as in the case of San Antonio Spur basketball star Terry Cummings.

Daniels, who has a .302 batting average with 77 stolen bases in four major league seasons, took the news lightly.

“Hey man, I’m just on an extended vacation,” he said Thursday before his caller expressed knowledge of the problem. “Really man, it’s nothing. I’ve been talking to doctors all day and I’m not worried. When I first heard about it, I thought about Gathers and I was a little worried. But not any more.”

Daniels didn’t even contact his agent, Lou Oppenheim, who called Daniels Thursday night after learning about it from someone else.

“Either he is one cool customer, or there really isn’t anything wrong--or both,” Oppenheim said. “I can’t imagine Kal would be taking it like this if he was really told it was serious.”

Teammate and friend Lenny Harris, who was traded with Daniels by Cincinnati last year, said he also could not imagine a problem.

“He’s never sick, he’s the healthiest one out there,” Harris said. “That sounds like some serious business, but I can’t believe something like that would happen to him.”

Times staff writer Elliott Almond contributed to this story from Los Angeles.