For those that missed the news yesterday, 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh underwent a "minor" procedure at Stanford Hospital for an irregular heartbeat. All reports indicate he began feeling some kind of discomfort on Wednesday evening and checked with 49ers doctors at Stanford. He underwent the "minor procedure" that apparently was minor enough for him to make an appearance at practice. I read that tweet and this one as indicating Coach Harbaugh went to practice after the procedure.
The 49ers did not reveal the specific kind of procedure, but Matt Barrows and Eric Branch both did a little snooping around and spoke with some Bay Area doctors not connected to Coach Harbaugh's procedure. According to Dr. William Bonmmer (Barrows source) and Dr. Matthew DeVane (Branch's source), it sounds like Coach Harbaugh may have experienced atrial fibrillation. If that was the case, he would have apparently been treated with a cardioversion, which is an outpatient procedure (check both links for more details on the procedure).
If it was in fact an atrial fibrillation, both Barrows and Branch reported that doctors suggested reducing stress was one way to sufficiently recover. If this is the case, it will be interesting to see how Coach Harbaugh handles it given his Sunday emotion. If it is the atrial fibrillation, it also sounds like medication can hep.
The video above features Patrick Willis speaking with the media yesterday. He was scheduled to speak following Coach Harbaugh, so he ended up chatting about the health developments. Assistant head coach/special teams coordinator Brady Seely informed the team of Coach Harbaugh's health issues before practice yesterday. Coach Harbaugh is expected back on Friday, but until then, Brad Seely is handling things. I think germinator had the best comment yesterday, suggesting they let Coach Tomsula pad his undefeated win record.
There were plenty of well wishes around the NFL, with even everyone's favorite rival coach dropping in with a comment:
Sending out best wishes to Jim Harbaugh for a quick recovery... Get well soon, we gotta alotta ball games left!
— Pete Carroll (@PeteCarroll) November 15, 2012