Fred Hoiberg previews upcoming heart procedure, recovery timeline
College basketball practices are beginning across the country, including Nebraska. The Cornhuskers are fresh off the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2014. But before head coach Fred Hoiberg really gets this season kicked off, there is a personal matter he must attend to.
Hoiberg is set to have a procedure on his heart on Friday, with the exact term being pacemaker replacement surgery. He explained the entire process, dating back to the closing days of his playing career and when he was the head coach at Iowa State.
“I expect a very routine surgery,” Hoiberg said. “I’ve had one of these done before. Just a little background, I had open heart surgery in 2005. That’s what ended my NBA playing career. During the procedure to correct an aortic aneurysm, they nicked my conduction system which is invisible when you go through that procedure.
“So, I developed 100% heart block. They implanted a pacemaker on me after that first surgery and I was in the hospital for about a week as they got everything set. That lasted about 10 years. So, I got it in ’05, the second one 2014, I was at Iowa State.”
The story of Hoiberg continued, saying the battery of his pacemaker was low and became an issue around a decade ago. Now, they are getting ahead of the battery and decided right before the season began was the opportunity time for the procedure.
“We got about a month of battery life left so we felt that this time would be the best time do it,” Hoiberg said.
Thankfully, Hoiberg is not expected to miss much time. He will be able to get on the court with Nebraska for practice on Friday ahead of the surgery. The weekend will then be used as a recovery period before getting back into the normal routine.
“I don’t anticipate missing any time,” Hoiberg said. “I will have the procedure done on Friday. I will go to practice on Friday morning, I’ll be grumpy because I have to fast. I can’t eat and I’ll get through the procedure, hopefully recover over the weekend, and barring any complications, I should be back on the court on Monday.”
Nebraska will play its first game of the 2024-2025 season on Nov. 4, scheduled to face Texas Rio Grande Valley in Lincoln. Getting back to the NCAA Tournament will be the team’s ultimate goal, looking to make back-to-back postseasons for the first time since 1994 as members of the Big 8 Conference.