Hilgenberg, 35, Has Angioplasty After Suffering Minor Heart Attack
Former New Orleans Saint backup center Jay Hilgenberg had a minor heart attack, but after a procedure to clear clogged arteries, he “feels great,” a suburban Chicago cardiologist said Friday.
Whether he will be back on the football field again is up to him, “but it would not be my recommendation,” said Jay Alexander, a cardiologist treating Hilgenberg at Lutheran General Hospital in suburban Park Ridge.
Hilgenberg, 35, checked into Lake Forest Hospital on Monday when bothered by chest pains and nausea at his suburban Chicago home. He was admitted to Lutheran General on Thursday and underwent angioplasty, a non-surgical procedure to clear clogged arteries.
Alexander said Hilgenberg was recovering nicely, but said, “I think he’s got some hard decisions to make.”
He expected Hilgenberg to be released today.
Hilgenberg, a former Chicago Bear and seven-time Pro Bowl selection, felt chest pains last season while with the Saints. Doctors told him the pain was probably caused by a cartilage tear in his chest.
He is an unrestricted free agent.
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