PHOTO: Bildbyrån
Henrik Lundqvist was forced to end his career due to heart problems.
Now the former hockey goalkeeper gives new information about the situation.
– I will have to do more operations, he says to Hockey Sweden.
It was the summer of 2021 like a teary-eyed one Henrik Lundqvist announced that his hockey career was over. When he was about to change NHL teams from the New York Rangers to the Washington Capitals, a serious heart defect was discovered that led to extensive surgery.
Henke’s initiative
Back in 2005, when Lundqvist first moved to North America and signed an NHL contract, heart problems were discovered, but it would take over 15 years before he was forced to undergo surgery. Now “Henke” opens up about how he feels today.
– I am feeling very well. It has taken almost three years before I got rid of the inflammation in my heart. It was a bit up and down, back and forth, but the last seven, eight months I have been able to be very active so it feels very good, he says in an interview with Hockey Sweden.
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Lundqvist now wants to help others and has started a collaboration with the Heart-Lung Foundation, where they started a fundraiser for the “Heart of the Year” initiative. The goalkeeper icon now invites all Swedes to contribute.
– If you donate money to my collection, I will double your gifts. Crown for crown up to SEK 250,000. Join and support the fundraiser too. This is how we save lives together, he says on the Heart-Lung Foundation’s official website.
More operations
Henrik Lundqvist is not yet fully recovered and announces the tough news that more operations await him.
– For my own part, my journey is not finished. I will have to do more surgeries. Of course I am concerned that the research should continue in the right direction, he says to the hockey site.
– We also have a lot of knowledge in Sweden, but the support is still needed. It felt right to jump in to help and through my organization match and double the stake up to SEK 250,000 that people put in.
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The 42-year-old is extremely grateful for the care that is available and that research is making new progress every year. Now he wants to do his utmost to make it easier for others in the same tough situation.
– If you have health problems, care is of course extremely important. You trust them to take care of you and it’s not something you can solve yourself. It gives you peace of mind if you receive good care, good knowledge and the right information about what is happening. The more you know, the calmer you are if such a situation arises, regardless of what kind of health problem it is, he says in the interview.
– When the Heart and Lung Foundation got in touch, it felt like I had a strong connection to what they strive for, which is to continue developing research. There are many people living with heart and vascular diseases in Sweden. The support from the Heart-Lung Foundation means a lot in that work.
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