Many people believe that Damar Hamlin’s life may have been saved if prompt emergency care had been provided on the scene by trained medical experts. It is far less clear, though, if his cardiac arrest might have been avoided.
According to doctors, the cause of Hamlin’s heart-stopping following a tackle during Monday night’s game in Cincinnati is still being investigated.
One option, a rare chest trauma known as commotio cordis, cannot be predicted or avoided.
The most frequent reason for sudden cardiac arrest in young athletes is pre-existing heart problems.
Tests like echocardiograms, which use ultrasound to provide images of the heart’s muscles and valves, can be used to identify some of them.
EKGs evaluate the electrical activity of the heart.
These tests can find not all heart diseases, and they occasionally miss ones that can be fatal.
According to Dr. Andrew Peterson, team physician for the University of Iowa, they are common in professional sports and utilized by nearly half of NCAA institutions.
To avoid excluding too many athletes due to false-positive readings, the American Heart Association and American Academy of Pediatrics do not advocate for regular usage in high school and child sports, according to Peterson.
According to Dr. Mariell Jessup, chief medical officer of the heart association, routine physical examinations should ask about any family history of heart disease as well as concerning symptoms, including fainting spells, an accelerated heart rate, and chest pain when exercising.
She suggested conducting cardiac testing to look into such problems.
She added that it is conceivable for someone to reach adulthood without receiving a diagnosis.
“Who specifically occurs in populations under-resourced or lack access to regular medical care.”
His health background Hamlin has not been made public.
The 24-year-old Buffalo Bills safety is still in the hospital, but his medical team notes that he is making outstanding progress, talking and breathing independently.
According to Jessup, Hamlin “was exceptionally blessed that there were individuals present who knew CPR” and that it was started quickly away.
He also benefited from the pregame emergency medical drills that the NFL regularly conducts at stadiums.
According to online NFL player health and safety material, the meeting is a crucial milestone to make sure referees, team medical staff, and gameday medical experts are informed of all in-game player health and safety protocols and resources.
One of the things for which they strive to prepare is sudden cardiac arrest.
Although it is uncommon, sudden cardiac death is the most common medical cause of death in young athletes, accounting for 1 out of every 50,000 to 80,000 of them annually.
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