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Clint Dempsey clear to play again after heart problems Clint Dempsey cleared to play again after heart problems
(about 2 hours later)
Seattle Sounders star Clint Dempsey said on Tuesday the symptoms that eventually led him to being diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat first surfaced last February but he has been cleared to train again after missing his team’s first MLS Cup title. Seattle Sounders star Clint Dempsey said on Tuesday that the symptoms that led him to being diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat first surfaced last February – but he has been cleared to train again after missing his team’s first MLS Cup title.
Dempsey spoke to the media for the first time since he was diagnosed with the irregular heartbeat in August and his season was shut down.  “It was a heart issue. It’s something that’s difficult to kind of explain,” Dempsey said. “But at the same time I’m not feeling those things anymore and I’m happy to be back playing.” Dempsey spoke to the media for the first time since he was diagnosed with the irregular heartbeat in August and his season was cut short.
Dempsey has been a full participant in practices and had stints of 30 and 45 minutes in preseason games in Arizona recently. That workload is expected to increase as the Sounders leave later this week for the final stage of their preseason training in South Carolina. Dempsey estimated he’s probably at 85% to 90% of his full fitness level right now after starting a closely monitored exercise regime before training camp. “It was a heart issue. It’s something that’s difficult to kind of explain,” Dempsey said. “But at the same time I’m not feeling those things any more and I’m happy to be back playing.”
“I was able to consistently progress and work on my fitness and make sure everything was moving in the right direction,” Dempsey said. “It started off slow and had to work my way up and still working up now but feeling like I’m finally getting close.” Dempsey has been a full participant in practices and had stints of 30 and 45 minutes in pre-season games in Arizona recently. That workload is expected to increase as the Sounders leave later this week for the final stage of their preseason training in South Carolina.
Dempsey is also hopeful of working his way back into consideration for the US national team. Dempsey said he spoke with Bruce Arena late last year about everything that was going on. Dempsey estimated he’s probably at 85% to 90% of his full fitness level right now after starting a closely monitored exercise regime before training camp.
“It would be great to get back in with the US team but to do that I have to do well here and that’s the main focus, is here with Seattle and making an impact on the field here,” Dempsey said. “I was able to consistently progress and work on my fitness and make sure everything was moving in the right direction,” Dempsey said. “It started off slow and had to work my way up and still working up now but feeling like I’m finally getting close.”
The 33-year-old remained guarded about any specifics regarding his heart condition saying, “I don’t really want to go that much into it.”  Dempsey is also hopeful of working his way back into consideration for the US national team. Dempsey said he spoke with Bruce Arena late last year about everything that was going on.
“It would be great to get back in with the US team but to do that I have to do well here and that’s the main focus, is here with Seattle and making an impact on the field here,” Dempsey said.
The 33-year-old remained guarded about any specifics regarding his heart condition. “I don’t really want to go that much into it,” he said.