CC Sabathia underwent unexpected heart procedure last week

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic has reported that Yankees starting pitcher CC Sabathia underwent a procedure to unblock an artery leading to his heart on December 11th. Sabathia reportedly was experiencing chest pain and other worrisome symptoms before receiving a check-up and subsequently learning that an operation was required.

Rosenthal reports that Sabathia’s prognosis is “excellent, both short- and long-term” and he is expected to make a full recovery, which is wonderful news. It even appears that the procedure, referred to as an angioplasty, should improve Sabathia’s cardiovascular health going forward, a positive development.

Even so, this is still shocking to hear. Had Sabathia not noticed or not reported his pain, he would have been at risk of a heart attack. The plan now is for Sabathia to undergo a stress test next month, and if everything goes well, he can begin ramping up for spring training and the upcoming season again.

Courtesy of Linsdey Adler via Twitter, here is Brian Cashman’s statement on the situation:

Our thoughts are of course with Sabathia as he recovers from this scare.