A Star Player Is Back in the Game

Sports were a way of life for 17-year-old Bryan Price, but when a heart condition sidelined him in the fall of 2007, The Children’s Hospital helped him get back in the game.

In November 2007, Bryan Price — a football and lacrosse player at Cherry Creek High School in Englewood, Colorado — began feeling fatigued while playing in a football game. When he still did not feel well a couple days later, his parents decided to take him to his pediatrician’s office.

A computed tomography (CT) scan revealed fluid around Bryan’s heart and lungs, and his pediatrician advised him to go to The Children’s Hospital immediately.

The Heart of the Matter

Bryan was diagnosed with pericardial effusion, a buildup of excess fluid in the pericardium, the sac-like structure surrounding the heart.

“When I saw him, it was a tribute to his fitness that he didn’t appear to be as sick as his vital signs indicated,” said Anthony C. McCanta, MD, Pediatric Cardiology Fellow at Children’s. “He didn’t look like he was in much pain, but when we performed an echocardiogram, we found a lot of fluid around his heart.”

The fluid was causing Bryan’s heart to collapse from the outside in, so Dr. McCanta drained the area to relieve the pressure around his heart. When the fluid re-accumulated, Bryan underwent a pericardial window, a procedure during which surgeons removed part of the sac around his heart.

Bryan spent about three weeks in the cardiac intensive care unit (ICU), and during this time Dr. McCanta — a former high school football player as well — began to see a bit of himself in the young athlete.

“I could tell he loved sports and was very motivated academically,” Dr. McCanta said. “I became especially drawn to him when he expressed an interest in medicine.”

Looking Forward to the Future

After a successful recovery following surgery, Bryan returned to the football field in the fall of 2008 and helped lead his team to the state championship game. Dr. McCanta attended one of Bryan’s playoff games and is trying to arrange for Bryan to visit the cardiac operating room so he can get a close-up look at the healthcare profession.

Bryan graduated from Cherry Creek in May 2009 and plans to attend the United States Air Force Academy.

“The care Bryan received at Children’s was absolutely fabulous,” said Maribeth Price, Bryan’s mother. “Everything there is geared toward helping kids get better, and I can’t say enough about the care they offered my son.”

To find a pediatric cardiologist at The Children’s Hospital, visit www.thechildrenshospital.org and select “Find a Doctor.”