How Rylan Parkins overcame heart issues to become a star for McDowell boys basketball

ARDEN – During McDowell boys basketball games last season, Rylan Parkins’ heart rate soared as high as 250 beats per minute.

The junior forward would run short of breath quickly as his heart rate accelerated much higher than the typical rate of 60-100 beats per minute. He would get fatigued faster than normal. Parkins would have to come out of games until he got his heart rate under control, but the issue persisted.

Parkins was diagnosed with SVT, or supraventricular tachycardia, a condition which causes rapid heartbeats due to irregular electrical impulses to the heart. Last January, Parkins underwent a procedure to correct the issue.

A year later and with a healthy heart, Parkins is the driving force behind McDowell’s hot start.

“I recovered pretty quick,” Parkins said. “I played the next week and felt like a brand new man because I didn’t have to worry about nothing.”

Parkins’ heart rate would accelerate while playing sports, often forcing him out of games. He had to miss his sophomore football season because he wasn’t medically cleared.

The third episode Parkins had, and the first one during basketball season, came in McDowell’s third game of the season against R-S Central on Nov. 29. By the time of his procedure in January, it had occurred 20 times.

“(I felt) a lot of exhaustion,” Parkins said. “I felt like I ran three marathons back-to-back-to-back when it started happening.”

Parkins would come off the floor during games and go straight to the trainer, working to control his breathing using a straw. When Parkins struggled to control his heart rate on his own, he would need help from EMS. Multiple times, Parkins ended up in an ambulance, needing assistance to calm his heart.

After dealing with an elevated heart rate three times in one game, the Parkinses decided to get the issue solved.

A year ago in January, Parkins underwent a heart ablation, a procedure to block irregular electrical signals and restore a regular heartbeat.

The day of the procedure, Leslie Parkins, Rylan’s mother, said the waiting room was full of teammates, parents and coaches, all there to show support to Parkins.

Parkins was out of practice for nine days. He didn’t miss a game.

“It was definitely a setback for basketball, but I’m glad it happened,” Parkins said. “It taught me some life lessons.”

Parkins returned to lead McDowell down the stretch of his sophomore season, averaging more than 17 points per game to lead the Titans to a 13-12 record, its most wins since the 2017-18 season.

This season, Parkins is back at the forefront of McDowell’s game plan, even while teams focus more on shutting the junior down. Through 11 games, Parkins is averaging 19 points while the Titans are off to a 10-2 start.

“It’s tough to sometimes for a kid to be the best player on the team,” McDowell coach Brian Franklin said. “Sometimes there’s jealousy. Not with Rylan. Every one of the kids on the team love him and they’re always pulling for him.”

Parkins is inherently selfless on the floor. Part of what he says he loves about basketball is getting to play with teammates. The attention Parkins draws on the floor also opens up scoring opportunities for his teammates.

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“He’s got unbelievable stats, but he really doesn’t care unless we win,” Franklin said. “He just wants to win, especially considering a lot of teams are trying to do everything they can to keep the ball out of his hands.”

Parkins self-describes his play style as Dirk Nowitzki-like – the “slow, big man” style, he said. Parkins added that he likes the intensity with which Nowitzki played.

As part of his development from last year, Parkins worked on stretching the floor to shoot 3-pointers and dribble the ball more.

“He’s only going to get better,” Franklin said. “As good as he is, I think he’s got a tremendous amount of room for growth and improvement.”

Evan Gerike is the high school sports reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email him at egerike@citizentimes.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanGerike. Please support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: How McDowell basketball star Rylan Parkins overcame heart problem