Martz is believed to be suffering from endocarditis, a bacterial infection of a heart valve. He was admitted to the hospital late Monday afternoon.
Joe Vitt, assistant head coach and linebackers coach, will serve as interim head coach in Martz`s absence. Offensive coordinator Steve Fairchild will handle Martz`s play-calling duties.
"Our No. 1 concern at this time is for Mike`s heath and well-being," Shaw said. "Our understanding is that he has an acute bacterial infection. It is undetermined at this time how long Mike will be out. Our thoughts and concern are with Mike, his wife, Julie, and his family."
Shaw said he got a telephone call from a team doctor on Monday informing him that a specialist who had seen Martz earlier in the day was recommending that the 54-year-old coach be hospitalized because his condition had worsened.
"I don`t really feel that we should put it in the life-threatening category because I don`t know if that would be an appropriate description," Shaw said. "I was led to believe that the heart valve was not as strong this week as it was a week and a half ago."
"He was concerned that he was letting down a lot of people at this time, but he also had concerns about the gravity of the situation, and the fact that he had to be hospitalized," Shaw said.
Martz held a team meeting at about 2 p.m. Monday. It lasted about five minutes, and afterward players declined to comment as they hustled to their cars in the parking lot.
"He let the players know that he was going to hospitalized and he was going to miss some time," Vitt said. "Of course that was an emotional meeting. He addressed the team and then left."
"So this is a Coach Martz loss," Martz said after the game. "Put a big check on that one. Bad job of play-calling, preparation and meddling with the defense. Other than that, you would`ve watched us win."
Martz said he didn`t tell the Rams` medical staff about his healthy problems for about a month. He finally checked himself into the hospital on Sept. 30 for what was originally thought to be a sinus infection.
"I didn`t tell them anything, I didn`t tell them for four weeks that I was feeling bad," Martz said. "I just felt like it was the flu, and I could suck it up and fight through it. Then I got to the point where it scared me because I was really sick, really sick last Friday. I knew I was, and I panicked and went to the hospital."
Endocarditis affects 10,000 to 20,000 Americans each year, and in some cases can cause require open-heart surgery, Dr. Arthur Labovitz, director of cardiology at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine told The Associated Press.
"It`s a very serious condition," Labovitz said. "There can be some serious complications that are probably influenced by how you take care of yourself once a diagnosis is made."
Martz has a 56-36 record in his sixth season as the Rams` coach. He ranks third in Rams history in coaching wins behind John Robinson (79-74 record from 1983-91) and Chuck Knox (72-53-1 from 1973-77, 92-94).
Other NFL coaches who have missed time during the season due to health issues include Chicago`s Mike Ditka, who missed one game in 1988 after suffering heart attack, and Atlanta`s Dan Reeves, who missed five games in 1998 after undergoing quadruple bypass surgery.
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