Jim Harbaugh paid attention to his body when he started to feel unwell during pregame warmups.
The Los Angeles Chargers coach went into the medical tent and then to the locker room in the first quarter on Sunday to be checked for an irregular heartbeat. An EKG showed his heart was back to normal, so he returned to the sideline with his team already leading 3-0.
His team didn’t lose their rhythm in a 23-16 victory over the Denver Broncos. In fact, his quarterback, Justin Herbert, didn’t even notice his absence. However, Harbaugh’s brother, Baltimore coach John Harbaugh, ended his postgame news conference early after a win over Washington to check on him.
“Everything ended up turning out to be OK,” said Jim Harbaugh, who received IV fluids. “The doctors checked me out, and it got back into normal rhythm. So I came back. “It’s the heart so you take it seriously.”
Harbaugh mentioned he has been dealing with atrial flutter, which can cause the heart to beat too fast. He had a procedure to treat this condition in 1999 and another one in 2012 while coaching the San Francisco 49ers.
He remembers that procedure well because it followed a Monday night game where Colin Kaepernick led the 49ers to a 32-7 win over the Chicago Bears. Harbaugh said he hadn’t experienced another episode until this weekend.
“I started feeling it last night but wasn’t really sure,” Harbaugh said. “Just like in 2012, it was during the pregame warmups — I kind of started feeling it.” He joked, “2-0 in arrhythmias.”
Herbert was surprised to learn that his coach had left the sideline and that anything was wrong. He mentioned that Harbaugh had talked about his health the night before.
“He said he was really excited for the game. He said his blood was flowing and he was excited,” Herbert said, who completed 21 of 34 passes for 237 yards and one touchdown.
“I thought everything was good to go. That’s definitely something he should get checked out. He’s a tough guy, though.”
While in the locker room, Harbaugh said the medical staff checked his pulse and did an EKG.
“Trust the doctors. If you’re not going to trust your doctors, who are you going to trust?” he said. “Came back into the locker room, and the paramedics came, got an EKG and said it was back to the sinus (normal) rhythm, and I said, ‘I feel good.’
I went back out there on the field.” Harbaugh plans to see his cardiologist on Monday.
When he left the sideline at the start of the game, the Chargers described his absence as an illness. Defensive coordinator Jesse Minter took over until Harbaugh returned midway through the first quarter with the Chargers ahead 3-0 and pushing toward another score. The Chargers built a 23-0 lead in the second half before the Broncos made a late comeback.
