Volume 6 | Issue 1
Inside This Issue
January Edition 2023
Understanding Cardiac Arrest and Emergency Response Following Damar Hamlin’s Collapse During Monday Night Football By American Heart Association
W Robotic Bronchoscopy May Offer Solution to Lung Biopsy Risks See pg. 11
INDEX Legal Matters....................... pg.3 Oncology Research......... pg.4 Mental Health...................... pg.5 Healthy Heart....................... pg.6
hile playing in the Buffalo Bills - Cincinnati Bengals game on Monday Night Football on January 2, Bills player Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest after a hit and was administered CPR on the field before being transferred to an area hospital, according to an overnight statement by the Buffalo Bills. On-site care explanation Hamlin reportedly experienced a cardiac arrest – when the heart stops abruptly with little or no warning. Early recognition of cardiac arrest improves the person’s chance of survival and is key to starting the correct care of CPR and the appropriate use of defibrillation to restart the heart. The on-site medical team evaluated the situation and appeared to quickly remove his safety pads, begin CPR and apply the automated external defibrillator (AED). CPR can help keep the heart pumping and blood flowing to vital organs until an electrical shock from a defibrillator is available to restore the heart to a normal heart rhythm. Then the patient can be safely moved for further medical treatment, supportive care, testing to determine what the cause of the arrest may have been and recovery, including both physical and mental health resources for the person and their family. Possible causes Cardiac arrest can have several causes. Since Hamlin collapsed immediately following a tackle on the play, one potential cause could be commotio cordis. Commotio cordis is a rare phenomenon from a sudden blunt impact to the chest causing sudden death in the absence of apparent cardiac
damage. The blow to the chest at precisely the wrong time in the cardiac cycle causes an electrical abnormality
On-Site Care Explanations, Possible Causes, Traumatic Stress of Responders/ Observers, Resources For Learning CPR
Healthy Aging for the New Year See pg. 12
in the heart resulting in an irregular heart rhythm that cannot pump blood to the body. Immediate CPR and a shock to reset the rhythm can help the heartbeat return to normal function. Another cause of cardiac arrest that additional tests are likely to attempt to detect or rule out is hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) or a thickened heart muscle – a more common cause of sudden cardiac death in young people and athletes specifically. The thickened heart can be due to a genetic condition or can be caused by athletic conditioning that
thickens the muscles of the heart and can make it more susceptible to an irregular heart rhythm like ventricular fibrillation/tachycardia. Traumatic stress for responders, observers Witnessing and responding to a cardiac arrest can be a very traumatic event and may cause lingering psychological impact regardless of the outcome. Lay responders and witnesses may need support and resources to help process their experience. Responders have cited exhaustion, guilt, flashbacks, sleep disturbances, self-doubt, anger, sadness and fear. A positive outcome to performing CPR can mitigate some of the emotional responses; however, psychological responses are wide-ranging and individualized. In situations with a failed resuscitation attempt, PTSD symptom scores were twice as high for responders as those for non-witnesses. “This was traumatic for everyone, especially Hamlin’s family and teammates but also for so many others involved and witnessing the see Cardiac Arrest...page 14
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