Heart condition forces Washington's Burt to end basketball career

Quick thinking by five teammates saved Kayla Burt's life last Tuesday, when she collapsed in her bedroom with an episode of sudden death, her face turned purple and her heart stopped pumping blood.

Based on what doctors found in a series of examinations following the incident, the sophomore guard's basketball career at Washington is over.

Burt has been diagnosed with Long Q-T Syndrome, a condition that usually is inherited and can cause accelerated heart rhythm, loss of consciousness and sudden cardiac death in teenagers and young adults. Doctors at the University of Washington Medical Center installed a defibrillator yesterday to monitor and regulate her heart rate.

"Unfortunately, because of this medical condition," Washington Coach June Daugherty said, "Kayla's career, as far as a basketball player, has ended."

Daugherty joined the Burt family, Athletic Director Barbara Hedges, Dr. Kim Harmon, Dr. Peter Kudenchuk and Burt's teammates at an emotional news conference yesterday to announce Burt's medical condition and the events surrounding its discovery.

This is what they told the assembled media in the packed Don James Center:

Burt and five teammates rented a movie, purchased junk food and settled in for New Year's Eve. When the movie was over, senior guard Loree Payne went upstairs to Burt's room, where Burt soon joined her.

Burt fell off the bed, and when Payne looked down at her, she was unconscious and turning purple. Payne yelled downstairs to teammates Giuliana and Gioconda Mendiola, Erica Schelly and Nicole Castro. They called 911 and the Mendiola sisters administered CPR 2½ minutes after the collapse. The ambulance arrived 2½ minutes later.

For two days, the team stayed by her bedside in the intensive-care unit at the UW Medical Center. Burt, a sophomore guard from Arlington, didn't remember much between when she was admitted and Friday.

The university discussed not going to Los Angeles for two scheduled Pac-10 games, then left the decision to Burt's teammates, who decided to continue playing in her honor.

The Huskies, playing with little sleep and still in obvious emotional shock, looked flat in a 72-46 loss to UCLA on Friday. Burt was moved out of ICU on Saturday. And on Sunday the team beat USC 83-81 in overtime.

"They willed that win for Kayla," said Daugherty.

"For you guys to go down there and actually win a ballgame, that's the most unbelievable thing I've ever seen," said Ken Burt, Kayla's father. "You guys will never be forgotten as long as I'm alive. All you cared about was Kayla."

Long Q-T Syndrome is generally hereditary, and Teri Burt, Kayla's mother, said her father died of a heart attack "at a very young age." As a result, that side of the family will be tested.

Once doctors found the syndrome in Kayla, the best route to prevent a recurrence was to install the defibrillator.

Kudenchuk performed surgery on Burt yesterday to install the 1.5-inch-by-1.5-inch defibrillator. He said the device is 99 percent effective at terminating another attack should one occur, but it will not prevent the attack from happening.

"It is truly a parachute, in every sense of the word," Kudenchuk said. "We may not be able to prevent another attack from happening. But based on what we know now, we can give her protection with the device that will offer her almost immediate treatment should another episode occur."

If Burt is unconscious before receiving the electric shock from the defibrillator, she might not feel it, Kudenchuk said. But if she was awake, she could, and the pain would range from "mildly unpleasant to putting your finger in a light socket."

Burt won't have to take daily medication because of the defibrillator, but she'll have the device the rest of her life, and doctors change the batteries every seven years. They put it in the right side of her chest, allowing the left-hander the opportunity to still shoot baskets, but not compete in strenuous athletic competition.

Teammates say the events of the past week have changed their lives and put sporting events into the proper perspective. Teri Burt said calls, cards and well-wishes have poured in from across the country. The hospital has been packed with visitors. Teammates made sure someone was always at Burt's side.

Kayla Burt will keep her scholarship for the remainder of her schooling and could be back in class late this week, Daugherty said, depending on when she is released from the hospital.

She wants out now, according to her family. Back into smiling and making everyone laugh. Back near her teammates. Back to a normal life. And, Daugherty said, maybe coaching in the future.

Burt's impact on the basketball court cannot be understated. She could shoot, pass and rebound with equal ease. And off the court, she made her teammates laugh, got along with everybody and helped make an already cohesive group even tighter.

Now, though, the Huskies have something more than Pac-10 title dreams and NCAA tournament bids to play for. They've dedicated this season to an ill teammate who will probably never play competitive basketball again.

And, in the process, they admit the last week has changed their lives.

"Every day, we're getting better," Daugherty said. "It's amazing that they had the courage to go down to Los Angeles, and do something that really didn't matter, and that's play basketball. Our goals changed, and that was to play and win for Kayla. So that's what we're going to do."

Greg Bishop: 206-464-3191 or gbishop@seattletimes.com.