Professional Basketball Player Dies Of Heart Attack, Previously Blamed COVID Vaccine For Myocarditis

Basketball player Óscar Cabrera Adames died Thursday of a heart attack while undergoing a stress test at a health center in Santo Domingo. He was just 28 years old.

Dominican sports commentator Héctor Gómez announced the news on Instagram.

Cabrera suffered from myocarditis, a disease that can reduce the heart's ability to pump blood.

Following his death, social media posts surfaced where Cabrera claimed the heart condition came from two doses of the COVID vaccine — which he was required to get for work.

I got a damn Myocarditis from taking a f-cking vaccine. (I got 2 doses of Pfizer) And I knew it! Many people warned me. But guess what? It was compulsory or I couldn't work. I am an international professional athlete and I am playing in Spain. I have no health problem, nothing, not hereditary, no asthma, NOTHING! I suddenly collapsed to the ground in the middle of a match and almost died. I'm still recovering and I've had 11 different cardiology tests done and guess? They find nothing. I have no cholesterol, no fat, nothing! 7% body fat 93% muscle. When they give me the diagnosis, they tell me that I won't be able to play for at least 5 months until my heart goes down again and they can't give me that medicine.

(Instagram: @hectorgomez_27)

Cabrera's myocarditis first became known in December 2021, when he suffered a syncope (fainting) during a Spanish Amateur Basketball League game. He left for the hospital on a stretcher.

Óscar Cabrera Dies During Stress Test

The stress test allows doctors to see how the heart works during exercise.

During the test, a medical professional attaches electrodes to the patient's chest. These electrodes connect to a machine that records the electrical activity of the heart (ECG). By watching this screen, doctors can record the heartbeat while the patient exercises.

But this stress test was too much for Cabrera, and it caused a heart attack.

Before playing overseas, Cabrera's career began at Daytona State College in the National Junior College Athletic Association.

But in 2016, he was arrested for attempting to have sex with a minor.

Óscar Cabrera was the nephew of "El Inmenso" Hugo Cabrera, a late professional basketball player and member of the Dominican Sports Hall of Fame.

Follow Amber Harding on Twitter: @TheAmberHarding