Olajuwon Returns to Hospital

Hakeem Olajuwon checked into a hospital Sunday after the Houston Rockets center noticed an irregular heartbeat during halftime of a game for the second time in less than two weeks.

Team doctor James Muntz said Olajuwon, 33, was in good condition at Methodist Hospital, where he arrived about 10:30 a.m. Sunday after leaving the Rockets in Washington, D.C.

The abnormal rhythm, or arrhythmia, appears similar to an episode Olajuwon had 12 days before and once in 1991. Muntz said the 7-foot Olajuwon is otherwise in good health, and the arrhythmia does not mean he has a heart problem.

“He has a perfectly normal heart,” said Muntz, who was uncertain when Olajuwon will return to action. “We don’t think that arrhythmia is career-threatening. We don’t think it’s life-threatening.”

Olajuwon noticed the irregular heartbeat during halftime of the Rockets’ 103-99 victory over the Washington Bullets on Saturday night.

Trainers took his pulse and consulted with team doctors, who determined it was safe for Olajuwon to play in the second half, Muntz said. Olajuwon played 39 minutes in the game, scoring 34 points and grabbing 17 rebounds.

Rocket spokesman Tim Frank said the star center felt “a little funny” while returning to the team hotel from a post-game dinner.

“He went to lay down. We called our trainer, our trainer checked him out and team officials decided it was in the best interest to fly him back and get our own doctors to take a look at him,” Frank said.

Cardiologist Tony Pacifico, an arrhythmia specialist, said he would wait until today to see if the heart corrects its own rhythm. If not, doctors will shock it back into sync with a defibrillator.

That procedure was used to correct the arrhythmia that struck Olajuwon during halftime of a Nov. 19 home game against Minnesota.

At that time, he was immediately taken to Methodist, where he remained for two days while undergoing precautionary tests.

The doctors said they still can’t tell if the arrhythmia is sporadic or chronic and are considering putting Olajuwon on a drug to help keep his heartbeat regular.

It’s not known why such arrhythmia occurs. Between 1% and 2% of all people are believed to have the condition at one time or another, Pacifico said.

Olajuwon, who led the Rockets to consecutive NBA titles in 1994 and 1995, had the same problem during the 1991-92 season, but it didn’t recur until this year.

In 13 games this season, Olajuwon is third in the league in scoring at 25.8 points per game.

Olajuwon had anemia during the 1994-95 season. Before the 1990-91 season he was hospitalized because of a blood clot in his left leg.