Raiders: DT Desmond Bryant back to work after bout with irregular heartbeat

Raiders DT Desmond Bryant was hospitalized briefly after experiencing a rapid heartbeat during the second half against Tampa Bay. Dehydration may have been to blame, and Bryant said he thinks he'll be ready for Sunday's game against the Ravens.

Raiders DT Desmond Bryant still doesn't know what caused an irregular heartbeat in Sunday's game against Tampa.
(US Presswire)

Raiders DT Desmond Bryant practiced Wednesday, just three days after leaving the Tampa Bay game early in the second half with a fast, irregular heartbeat then spending the night at Eden Medical Center.

Bryant was released from the hospital Monday after doctors were able to get his heart back to its normal rhythm that morning.

"They don't really know exactly what caused it," Bryant said after practice. "One of the things they think is that I was probably a little too dehydrated. It was pretty warm on Sunday. Get an IV before this game and should be good to go.

"Obviously they're going to try to monitor it as much as they can. Apparently it's not an uncommon thing to happen to athletes. Since it's happened to me, I've had a number of different people say, 'I've known this or that person who's had the exact same thing happen to them.' It's more comforting to know that. At the same time, you don't want your heart to be doing all that. I'll try to do whatever I can, and I know the guys in the training room will do the same thing. Should be good to go."

Bryant said he first noticed something unusual at halftime Sunday when his heart was beating rapid-fire and didn't slow down.

"There wasn't any pain involved with it," he said. "It was just my heart beating real fast, and it seemed like working real, real hard.

"I could breathe. I was trying to focus on trying to slow my breathing down to try to slow my heart down, but it didn't work."

Bryant played two plays in Oakland's first defensive series of the second half before coming off the field for good.

"I tried to go back out there. Fortunately I was only out there for two plays and I was able to get off the field, because I was not in a position to play football."

Some 20 minutes later, Bryant went to the hospital.

On Monday, Raiders coach Dennis Allen said he expected Bryant to miss Wednesday's practice.

"He went through some regimented tests, I believe it was on Tuesday, and the doctors, all the doctors involved have cleared him for full participation," Allen said. "So that being the case, we decided he ought to be out there practicing."

Follow Raiders reporter Eric Gilmore on Twitter @CBSRaiders.