Specialist helped

Judo veteran wants to get back on the mat after heart surgery

Charly Moser (blue judogi) during one of his many victories

(Bild: Olga Nowotny-Czupryna)

In 2021, Karl 'Charly' Moser won the Veterans World Judo Championships in Lisbon. Less than four years later, the St. Pölten athlete and musician needed a life-saving heart operation.

"It started with a slight stumbling of the heart. Over time, it became more and more severe and frequent," says Moser. A detailed examination revealed that the judoka was not only suffering from arrhythmia, but also had a large aneurysm in the area of the ascending aorta.

Saving operation
He turned to Prof. Dr. Dominik Wiedemann, Head of the Department of Cardiac Surgery at the University Hospital in the provincial capital. Wiedemann recognized the problem and indicated surgery. The aneurysmal expansion of the aorta was replaced and Prof. Wiedemann performed an ablation treatment of the conduction system in the same session.

Successful procedure
The procedure was a complete success. Barely three weeks later, Moser and his judo medals came to Prof. Wiedemann for a check-up. "I was involved in judo myself for many years and competed for JZ Innsbruck in junior competitions, so the name Karl Moser was not unknown to me. I am very happy that we were able to help him," says Wiedemann. "My thanks go to the entire team at St. Pölten University Hospital," adds Moser. And who knows, maybe there will be another comeback on the judo mat.