This morning on WFAN, Joe Benigno and Evan Roberts talked to Dr. Christine Resta, a thyroid specialist, about the situation with Jose Reyes.
To listen to the full interview, go to WFAN.com.
In short, Dr. Resta said, because his thyroid levels are fast, it could make his heart rate increase, even when he is sitting still, “So, if you exert yourself, you can put too much strain on the heart.”
In such cases, she tells her patients to cut back on exerting themselves, “at least until your levels get better.”
In her opinion, based on what she has read and heard, “It sounds like he has thyroiditis, which does get better by itself,” but, “the beginning part, could be as short as a few weeks, but it could be longer and take two months.”
Dr. Resta says medication will not help thyroiditis, ‘because it’s like getting a virus in your thyroid,’ you can only wait for the levels to get better.
In men, thyroiditis is typically caused by a virus, which is common, or an auto-immune condition, though diet should not be an issue, though it can be.
In her opinion, she has never heard of HGH causing thyroiditis.
In the end, she said, “If his thyroid is very fast and he really over exerts himself, he could develop palpitations, irregular heartbeat, older people can have heart-attacks, because it really is a strain on the heart, even for younger, healthy people,” like Reyes.
Dr. Resta said, in most people, it takes three to four weeks before they see better blood levels.
My God. Someone actually asked a qualified expert for a reasoned, well-thought out explanation as to what, exactly, Reyes might be dealing with? And it was, of all people, Joe Beningo and Evan Roberts?
It’s a miracle.
kinda a shame they got off the air before reacting to it.
I expected a “You just know with the Mets it’ll be 8-10 weeks” from Beningo in the face of these facts.
pshtt, what does she know about baseball players. Someone get me Buster Olney and Tim Kirkjian to analyze Reyes’ blood tests to tell me how many stolen bases he will have. We’ll get to the bottom of this eventually…
That’s pretty funny. I’m reassured to hear that her timeframe is similar to what we’ve been hearing from the team. At least it isn’t foolish optimism to hope that Reyes is ready earlier rather than later.
I would expect the Joe “The Sky Is Falling” Beningo to follow that up with… So you saying Jose reyes is out for the year and the mets are going to win 60 games…
“In men, thyroiditis is typically caused by a virus, which is common, or an auto-immune condition, though diet should not be an issue, though it can be.” Really, so there is no conection to diet?
“In her opinion, she has never heard of HGH causing thyroiditis” Really?
Was this doctor a thyroid expect or a thigh-roid expect? Does she think it is a hemorrhoid of the thigh?
How about expert not expect and yeah thyroiditis really isnt affected by diet but they put him on a diet so he doesnt take any chances at making it worse.
Thanks for the spell check.
I guess doctor’s opinions vary. Like many others, I had a family member with thyroiditis … and they were told the diet was a factor.
I guess you can go to a doctor who tells you what you want to hear. Who knows what s right in your particular case.
As a bodybuilder for 7 years it is so incredibly fraustrating having to explain the same simple concept time and time again; diet is absolutely a factor… IN EVVVVVVVVVVERYTTTTHING.
Take it from someone who has studied nutrition for nearly 10 years; doctors who don’t believe nutrition/diet has anything to do with maintaining your health, are ignorant and behind in the years.
Your diet has EVERYTHING to do with who you are, what you do, and how you can do it. Before medicines there were herbs and nutrient dense foods which were used to treat conditions; we now live in a pop’a'pill society.
Bingo!
I am not a body builder … I’m just a fat old guy. But my son is a body builder.
Any chance you will be at the April 10th competition in BInghamton? My son may or may not compete in that one.
Ive been asked to, but I am nowhere near contest ready, still bulking up =). My buddy John went last year and I believe he placed 3rd in teens. I heard it is an excellent show.
She did mention auto-immune. I suspect the diet is targeted at that possibility.
She said it could be a factor, but it’s not necessarily THE factor. It’s a virus and changing his diet on-going could help speed things up, and prevent further issues, but it’s not necessarily going to cure him any faster.
Life is about perception. What do you perceive as medicine? A guaranteed fix to a certain problem? Of course not, otherwise there wouldn’t be the millions of death a year due to illness. My perception on medicine is something with the ABILITY to prevent and cure certain pains, whether they be physical or mental. With that being said, nutrient dense food in MY mind is a medicine, because again, NOTHING is guaranteed.
I agree with you. And most modern doctors will tell you to eat certain things, and change your diet when certain things are wrong with you,
What i’m saying is his Diet didn’t cause this to happen, and changing it isn’t going to cure him. Will changing it help, yes it will and probably get his levels back to normal faster. But it’s not going to cure this.
I agree with you to a certain extent, but what caused this, a virus? And if a virus caused this, what drew the virus to Jose? Medication is a simple fix, diet is a cure. In my perception this can be CURED with diet.
Iodine + complex, fiberous carbs – simple sugars = the cure.
“You are what you eat!”
Great post Matt. I love it. She said what I have been saying for a week now. Thyroiditis is the most common thing in men and for Jose if its been 1 week already and 3-4 weeks is most common then your talking he could be cleared to work out before opening day. I think Mets fans would be off the ledge if they hear that Jose has been cleared to work out again before opening day with the knowledge that he will need a week or so to get into game shape and miss at most 10-15 games. I think if they can stay above water until he returns Jose and Carlos can be the difference makers to get this team back to the promised land.
Agreed — that is by far the high end optimistic view and I’m sure as Met fans we are all hoping for that. Let’s just hope the other 23 guys star healthy and nothing else happens in the next six months to our other key guys, no setbacks to these two, and everything will be just fine.
if it gets back to “normal levels” in 3-8 weeks and he starts to play again
wouldn’t it just go back up to high/fast/bad levels again?
no, because the virus will be out of his system. (And the diet is to help that.)
im no doctor but maybe if its a virus that causes thyroiditis then when the virus goes away so does the other symptoms
3-4 weeks really isn’t bad when you think about it, he could really end up missing very little time. The important thing for him is to be healthy clearly and it seems all that can be done is to wait for the virus to clear out. It’s very frustrating of course but not as bad as some reports.
It is what it is. Nothing we can do about it. As Mets fans, we are used to these types of things….at least in the past, it was on field injuries…this year it is month long pink eye for Krod and too much shrimp cocktails for Reyes that has caused us issues…
Kind of crazy…but hey, this is the Mets.
Love em or hate em, they keep it interesting.
“Too many shrimp cocktails” hahahaha… Good stuff. Funny and original. Not like you ripped off the plot to Pet Cemetary.
You are so on the ball w/ this…
The NY Mets have created a new Chinese calendar…
The year of the Taxi
The year of the Hammy
The year of the fish eye
The year of the concussion
Good think is these things come in 12 year cycles…so we should be OK in, say, 2018.
Was Benigno really unable to identify or correctly pronounce her branch of medicine, or was he afraid of sounding too intelligent for his listeners by using a long word?
This is what I’ve been saying for days! I still don’t think it should take Reyes that long to come back, nor do I think that such a long bout of inactivity is really necessary. That being said, I can understand why they’re doing it. They’re practicing CYA-medicine: Cover Your Ass.
Well, she did allow that it could take as long as 2 months. I don’t know how familiar she was with what the Mets have been saying, but I find it reassuring that her timeframe falls in line with what we’ve been hearing from the team, and I’ll hold out hope that Reyes’ case falls toward the short end of that timeframe.
She said it can take 3-4 weeks but it could be 2 months (= 8 weeks). That is exactly what has been said.
Why do you think otherwise? Are you an endocrinologist?
I knew good ‘ol Dr. Sylow would make at least one appearance on this post to talk down to someone.
The post made no sense. BTW, great comment last night. Real classy.
Just trying to match your class, my friend.
really? Do I insinuate anything about how you manage your health? Do I question how you live your life?
BTW see BigNorg’s post above from 3:19 pm. As someone who has also extensively studied nutrition and exercise physiology, diet affects EVERYTHING, including the onset of diabetes, Type 1, 2, 1.5, or any other variation. The truth hurts, but sometimes you need to realize you are wrong. So…go have a donut and good luck.
Yes But if this is a Virus or an Auto-immune disease it’s not something his diet caused, or changing his diet can cure any faster. Changing his diet going forward could help prevent this issue from ever occurring again.
I don’t think Jose reyes was perfectly healthy in terms of this condition then started scarfing down McD’s double cheeseburgers every day and developed thyroiditis. No vast change in his diet caused this, and no change in his diet will cure it any faster.
not true, yes for type 2 but 1 is autoimmune. 2 is controllable through diet in most cases but 1 and 1.5 there is no insulin produced. Onset has nothing to do with diet. Control is through insulin. Carb counting is used to determine the amount of insulin to take with meals. If I wanted a donut I can just take insulin. I choose not to. Given that non-packaged foods do not come with nutrition tables the number of carbs, exact servings, fiber, glyco index, … Are not exactly known the amount of insulin needed is approximate. Most time you get close. Sometimes you miss. Then your sugars are high or low snd you adjust.
BTW, you appear somewhat happy that I have health issues. That is pure class.
Do you understand the concept of genetics? Do you not understand that your genetics are CONSTANTLY changing and thus your actions of today DO IN FACT effect your kids tomorrow? If you have studied nutrition to the extent you claim, you would understand the basics of genetics. Yes type 1 diabetes is on set, but think to yourself, WHY ARE THEY PREDISPOSED TO TYPE 1 DIABETES? BECAUSE IT IS IN THEIR GENETICS!!! AND WHY IS IT IN THEIR GENETICS??? BECAUSE THEIR PARENTS AND PARENTS PARENTS DID NOT EAT EFFECTIVELY AND IN ESSENCE THAT CHANGED THEIR GENETIC MAKE UP TO MAKE THEM PREDISPOSED TO DIABETES.
I hate more than anything people on the internet who try to claim they are something they aren’t. If you have studied nutrition you know damn well you have studied, AT LEAST SLIGHTLY, genetics. Stop spreading misinformation, you’re not helping anyone.
Type 1 and 1.5 are autoimmune disorders. The immune system attacks the beta cells in the pancreas and destroys them. In Type 1 is occurs in childhood and the process is fast. In type 1.5 it starts in early adulthood and takes several years. Both are genetic. There are also clusters of AI disorders. Regardless it is not tied to you parent’s diet. But I will bring it up with my endocrinologist that I can change my genetics by eating more organic whatever.
Are you that clueless that you believe a change in your diet impacts your genetic makeup?
Dude, you clearly don’t understand genetics AT ALL. What you just said is very far from the truth. The fact that even Sylow even knows about type 1.5 diabetes (discovered at my med school btw!) shows that he’s probably got a pretty good grasp of his condition and diabetes in general.
Thanks,
what do you mean by “even sylow knows”?
Oops, no insult intended! I meant it in that most laypeople (assuming you’re not in healthcare of course!)
Thanks. I’m an actuary.
People with chronic diseases need to understand what they have a lot better than they do.
Good luck with your studies.
I reallly hope that post wasn’t addressed towards me; you’re talking to someone who has built a successful business on the basis of genetics and insulin. For anyone to say that diet does not alter your genetics, is ignorant. Don’t consult your doctor, go consult a geneticist.
Chakrabs, as someone who is apparently in med school you should understand the principal that nearly half of the human genome is composed of transposable elements or jumping DNA. I can’t believe I even need to explain to someone in med school that yes, the diet of your great great great grandparents does actually have an impact on your genetic DNA. If they haven’t taught you this is Med School then the future of this country in terms of health care is going backwards. Go google Barbara McClintock and the principal behind jumping DNA. Further go google Novo Nordisk and then try and tell me that I don’t know what I am talking about… Du er dritsek. Hell, there is a 50/50 shot that even Sylow gets his insulin and diabetic instruments from my company.
To expand further, example; the areas of the world which have high rates of diabetes are the areas in the world where the diets are prevalent in simple sugars, simple sugars which will constantly spike their insulin and in time make it so their bodies become non resistant to insulin or just does not produce insulin.
You need to grasp one simple fact about life, and this is a lessons that they are forbidden to teach in schools; The mere reason that life exists is its ability to adapt and constantly change. Whether you believe in God or not, you need to understand that LIFE EXISTS SOLELY because it is constantly changing and adapting to our world. Those whose bodies are unable to adapt and change efficiently experience problematic effects, i.e. diabetes, cancer, leukemia etc.
I have spent years and years researching and doing what I do. For you to insult me and tell me that I don’t know what I am talking about is perplexing.
Genetics is one POSSIBLE cause of type 1 diabetes. The truth is, nobody knows exactly what causes it, not even any of the self-proclaimed doctors on this blog (not meaning you). The cause of type 1 diabetes is unknown. Genetics is not the only cause. So, my comments were merely meant as a dig to Sylow, because he always seems to have something to say anytime someone posts an opinion contrary to his own (especially when it is medically related). We get it, you have a lot of health issues, stop clogging MetsBlog with your problems. Thanks.
I used type 1 vs 2 as an analogy to the confusion between hypo and hyper last night. You are the one that made it an issue by attacking me personally. You are the one that brought it up today.
Digs are one thing; and honestly I don’t mind them. I give them out and i get them back But a chronic disease, along with many other things, is off limits. If you agree to that we can stop this nonsense.
No. You are wrong. Both forms of diabetes have genetic components. Type 1 diabetes is due to auto-immune destruction of the cells of the pancreas that secrete insulin. Type 2 is more complicated but certain genetic mutations predispose you to getting it especially if you keep an unhealthy diet.
But this is all besides the point! This is a freaking baseball blog, not WebMD!
The above is in response to MDFalcha btw.
My point was merely that it is not the only cause of diabetes. Jeez can we get these quacks outta here!
My whole point is that this is a baseball blog and all of you need to treat it as such. So thanks for reinforcing that point for me. Nobody cares if you are in med school, if you have diabetes, or if your great grandmother’s best friend’s sister-in-law’s cousin thrice removed had grave’s disease. Talk baseball or go away!
I didn’t notice a whole lot of baseball discussed on this thread. If it bothers you so much just ignore any thread dealing with Jose’s thyroid or injuries in general as there will likely be a lot of discussion that isn’t directly baseball.
Allow me to chime in;
The only reason it would be 8+ weeks would be if they underlying problem is not in fact a simple matter of thyroiditis but rather something more alarming such as a goiter, presence of nodules or, God forbid, cancer.
Thyroiditis as Chakrabs has conveyed above, is a fairly simple obstacle to overcome, and in honesty is more prevalent than our society perceives. Jose, REALISTICALLY, could easily be playing opening day if he maintains a diet rich is fiberous foods, stays away from simple sugars which will spike his insulin, and makes sure he is getting enough of the mineral Iodine.
Jose if you’re out there buddy, I hope you’re reading this. NO MORE SWEETS!! AND MAKE SURE YOU EAT AS MUCH FIBER AS POSSIBLE AS THAT WILL CLEANSE YOUR SYSTEM AND ALLOW YOUR BODY A “FRESH” START!
I’m certainly far from an expert, but I am a med student currently studying endocrinology. I’m skeptical because Reyes is a healthy athlete, and a minor thyroid condition shouldn’t keep Reyes off his feet for longer periods of time than many neurosurgery patients I’ve seen in the past.
Again, I’m speaking as someone who, as an athletic younger male, came down with Graves Disease immediately after an ACL reconstruction. I suspect it was an auto immune reaction the the surgery.
As I’ve said before, with hyperthyroidism, your heart is beating fast, all the time, sitting, sleeping, and naturally, running from 1st to 3rd on a hit. For this reason, Reyes’ thyroid must be brought under control before he will be tearing up the basepaths.
It’s possible that Jerry Manuel was prescient in suggesting Reyes take the 3rd spot in the batting order, because this may well be a position he will be better suited for after this is all said and done.
Agree- but I would probably do the same thing. He’s high profile and a professional athlete.
I don’t agree with Dr. Resta’s opinion but that’s not unusual in the field of medicine.
I don’t think he is likely a risk for a “cardiac event”. Fatigue discomfort, rapid heartbeats or side effects from a potential drug he may be on (none of our business)…yes but heart attack? No. Life threatening heart beats? Not likely.
I’d also keep him off sports until he was stable but for different reasons than risk of heart problems. Most people his age can continue sports but he is a professional athlete with high physical demands on a nearly everyday basis.
I guess you didn’t read what she actually said to closely. She never stated he was at risk of a Heart-Attack.What she said was:
“If his thyroid is very fast and he really over exerts himself, he could develop palpitations, irregular heartbeat, older people can have heart-attacks, because it really is a strain on the heart, even for younger, healthy people,” like Reyes.
OLDER PEOPLE can have heartattacks. He could develop palpitations, or an irregular heartbeat… It could really strain his heart.
And she said he would absolutely have noticed something was wrong after a while, from fatigue, to rapid weight loss, to energy issues. Look at it this way: We get 90% of the season from Reyes, at 100% versus getting 100% of Reyes where he’s 75% in Sept and Oct.
He did jog the triple in the intrasquad game…. I just hope they don’t rush him back
Yup this was actually a good thing the Mets caught early. For Jose’s sake and for the teams sake. This is the best scenario that you could have hoped for.
Everyone’s crying, imagine the found this out in June and he had to miss 2-8 weeks during the year.
Reyes would have blown up like doll, further he was coming off an injury and made exceptional progress; that would have NEVER happened if it was something serious.
I read it correctly …your error is from not understanding the medical side that has subtle connotations in the verbiage. There is no such thing as “straining your heart” other than damage as in a heart attack or failure. She was suggesting this.
Reality? A rapid heartbeat and palpitations are harmless in an athlete his age and harmless to most middle aged folks without cardiopulmonary disease.
I don’t buy that. Try living life with a heart that’s beating as if you’re exercising, even when you’re sitting in bed. If your heart has any kind of abnormality to it, then this is the kind of prolonged stress you don’t want to be under. And no one knows for sure what might be lurking in their pulmonary system.
” If your heart has any kind of abnormality to it, then this is the kind of prolonged stress you don’t want to be under”
There is nothing wrong with his heart.
“And no one knows for sure what might be lurking in their pulmonary system.”
I have no clue what you mean by that statement. that really doesn’t make any sense.
By the way, I’m not trying to sell you anything. I’m offering insight (as a physician) into a world that is not easy to understand. Take it or leave it. I don’t care.
How does anyone know for sure that there is nothing wrong with Reyes’ heart? Just as a purely hypothetical, no one knows for sure.
My point is fairly straightforward. By putting stress on his heart in recent weeks, which he has definitely done, then if there’s anything latent in his system, it has come under test.
If the virus is, or could be the cause then why not put Jose on antibiotics? Otherwise, isn’t it possible that he starts training in a few weeks and it elevates again, because he could still have the virus.
I just don’t see how sitting at home watching TV makes the virus go away.
Because antibiotics have no effect against viruses…you’re thinking bacteria…antibiotics are effective against bacteria…
The best medicine for viral infections (common cold) is rest and diet…
Shocker.
They do not know that this was caused by a virus. It could very well have resulted from his auto immune system.
How soon until you think our blogs will be primarily about baseball and not medical nonsense? I watch baseball to escape a hectic life and enjoy myself, not act like Marcus Welby, MD. Kind of sucks…
metsblog.com -
“one thyroid condition, one million speculative medical posts”
CATCH THE FEVER!
Is this webmd.com or metsblog.com?
Can’t wait till we are talking about actual games and how it took me $100 worth of Citifield beer to catch a slight buzz.
PS. Why do the Mets beer stations say “Bottled Beer” then they pour the beer out of a can and into a glass? Attention to details I guess….
Apparently Metsblog has transformed into I-HAVE-A-DISEASE-WHICH-MAKES-ME-A-DOCTOR-BLOG.com.
Yes, I just cant wait until we have some positive news to talk about and to actually talk about the Mets and not medical issues all day.
Agreed, I’m eager to get this season started and just watch some real baseball. This offseason (and now the spring with this whole Reyes debacle) has been one to forget.
I never felt so drained before the season even started. This is crazy.
Here’s what’s interesting: everyone was stunned at the possible “8 weeks” prognosis. That’s because we had been hearing that this should be a relatively harmless condition, easy to recover from. Well, look back on all the doctors who had been quoted before the “8 weeks” came out, because I noticed this at the time: they were all saying he should be fine, this is easily treatable, no worries, he should be out for several weeks to a month or so at most… so this 8 weeks? That shouldn’t really have been a surprise to anyone. The problem is, baseball people and fans hear “easily treatable” and think “back on the field in a day or too”. Doctors say “easily treatable” and they mean the patient won’t die or suffer long-term ill effects. 2 to 8 weeks in the real world? That IS easily treatable. 2 to 8 weeks in baseball fantasy land? That’s an eternity.
Good grief! Do other teams have this amount of injury/health problems?!!
We need to organize a manhunt for the guy who has the Met voodoo dolls and put an end to this, once and for all!!!
Well, Holliday may be out for a month or more. Pulled an oblique. This is something like the fifth year in a row a Cardinal has done that.
Well, lucky for him he had it now than in-season, eh?
Anyway, that is one nasty injury & many make the mistake of coming back too early from.
‘Best Medical Staff in Baseball’ (according to the Mets’ brain trust)
And, since no one has posted it here yet because most of you commenters are all negative and won’t believe it anyway..
By April, Beltran believes he will be able to play in rehab games. Then it would take about a week to 10 days before he could rejoin team.
I hope you are right. This is the kind of news I need to hear!
I hate Fat Francesa…
All he keeps harping on is HGH and possible implications.
The Dr keeps saying virus, and Fran keeps asking HGH…
Same question, talking and beating around the bush…
Just say it…half the Yankees took steroids, so it has to be HGH…
I hate him…
And the report of the ‘study’ that he’s talking about? nearly THIRTY years old.
Yea if you are a met fan, Francesa is not who you want to be listening to right now. He has ample ammo to bash them whenver he gets a chance.
Well there is some good news on Carlos today
Carlos Beltran (knee) told the Newark Star-Ledger Friday that he expects to begin playing in rehab games by early April.
It’ll only take about a week-and-a-half of rehab games for Beltran to get geared up for the regular season, so it sounds like a real possibility that he could return by the end of April. The outfielder underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee back in January.
Source: Newark Star-Ledger
I heard he could start running soon…does anyone know anything about that?
I DID feel pretty good about this team, until Beltran went down, then I was kinda worried, now, with Reyes out as well I feel that we are in REALLY BIG trouble here. 1/4 of our starting team is out, before the season starts. We have questions at first, second and catcher, and, the only starter we can count on is Santana. We needed more problems as much as the Yankees need another ring. I am so down and disgusted with this team right now. What do we have to look ahead to and feel good about? We are counting on Luis/Murphy to handle the right side and Wright/Cora on the left? We are BAD. I hope we can have a chance to be in the Wild Card race, I know the division is gone.
You KNOW the division is gone? If you can see so clearly into the future then can you give me the Mega Millions lottery numbers? Plain and simple, you KNOW nothing except that you are worried about the team.
On a side note, another doctor, Ken Hershon, was just on with Francesa and he said it is unlikely HGH use cause Reyes’ thyroid problem, but it still should not be counted out. He also believes that it will take 2-3 weeks for Reyes’ levels to normalize and that the thyroid will begin to heal itself and there should be no future problems. Rather than jumping the gun, all we can really do is be patient and see how it plays out. The 8-week estimation is so the Mets can cover themselves, but it very well may be 3-4 weeks before Jose can exert himself on the field again.
Then add three weeks of extended spring training and we’re looking at May.
I would be more likely to suspect the recent surgery he had kicked something off.
Why are you worried? The Mets promised to build a team around pitching, speed, and defense….remember?
With Reyes and Beltran question marks on their return, I am more and more worried about our 2,3,4 starters.
I only hope by some miracle they all pitch to the best of their abilites or we are sunk.
I am going to wait till the end of spring training before I even think about the division being gone. I mean even at full strength I hate to say it but I think the Phillies have a better all around team and would win the division anyway.
But there was some good news on Beltran today so I mean if he is back at the end of April, that alone will be a huge lift to the Mets. I mean the end of April is only what 3 weeks into the season? If the Mets can hold there own and stay even .500 till Beltran, Reyes or both come back hopefully by the end of April I think they will be fine to compete for the division and of course the wild card.
I mean for a month or so you never no what can happen, a young rookie like Rubin Tejada can get hot and hold his own until pitchers start finding his weakness. My point is anything can happen, it’s hard to be positive but I don’t want to throw away any hope when the season is still 3 weeks away.
Well, listening to that has just highlighted how hysterical myself and others got yesterday. I still hate that I wont be seeing Jose in Grapefruit ball but as long as he’s playing at Citi by the end of April, I don’t care
I’m no doctor(but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express once)but if it is thyroiditisthere is most likely an underlying infection somewhere,and it should be found and treated.
The point was that it’s most likely a viral infection and there is no cure, regardless of location, other than rest, rest and more rest.
If it is of viral origin or autoimmune origin then rest is not necessary for the average healthy adult. Reyes is a professional athlete with a high profile so he will betreated differently.
There is a medication that can be used to keep the heart rate down but there are problems with using this med in an athlete.
Bottom line is that this is uncertain territory thus the conservative approach. In addition, who can distinguish between reality and what the Mets administration tells the press. In addition, how much of this is a privacy issue? This really isn’t our right to know the personal medical facts.