New York State In-depth

Damar Hamlin Updates – What is Commotio Cordis

Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, 24, is in critical condition following collapsing on the field on Monday night in a game in which the Buffalo Bills were playing the Cincinnati Bengals. Here’s what we know:

What was the incident?Moments after getting up from a field tackle that was open to Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins, Hamlin fell on his back.

Within 10 seconds, Bills training staff were taking care of the player within 10 seconds. An ambulance was on the field in less than five minutes, footage shows, and Hamlin received CPR in accordance with the ESPN broadcast. He was later taken to hospital.

Hamlin’s status:The player suffered a cardiac arrest following the collision, and his heartbeat was restored at the scene as the Bills announced in a statement made on Twitter in the early hours of Tuesday.

Hamlin was taken for treatment at The University of Cincinnati Medical Center for further testing and treatment, where he is now sedated The Bills added.

Game:Play was suspended at 5:58 in the first quarter, and the game was officially delayed. The NFL provided more details about the next steps would be released when it was the “appropriate time,” adding that Hamlin’s wellbeing was the top priority.

Team:Some members of Hamlin’s team have stayed in Cincinnati while the remainder of the team travels back to Buffalo Tuesday morning. Buffalo is in New York state, near the Canadian-US border.

Speculation has centered upon Commotio Cordis:

Commotio cordis is blunt, nonpenetrating trauma to the chest resulting in irregular heart rhythm and often leading to sudden death. This article presents the epidemiology, variables leading to commotio cordis, theories on predisposing factors, diagnosis, treatment, treatment outcomes, and return-to-play recommendations.

There are more than 190 reported cases of commotio cordis in the United States. Forty-seven percent of reported cases occurred during athletic participation. Commotio cordis is the second-most common cause of sudden cardiac death in athletes. Occurrence of commotio cordis is related to time of impact during the cardiac cycle, direct impact over the heart, the hardness and speed of the projectile, and the ineffectiveness of chest barriers. As a result, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission recommends that softer “safety” baseballs be used for youth baseball. Resuscitation using defibrillation was effective in only 15% of cases. Resuscitation within 3 minutes resulted in a survival rate of 25% (17 of 68 cases). Survival drops to 3% when resuscitation is delayed beyond 3 minutes. Survival of commotio cordis has risen from 10% to 15% since 2001. Reduced ventricular ejection fraction has been identified in some commotio cordis survivors.

 

Commotio cordis (CC) is blunt, nonpenetrating trauma to the chest resulting in irregular heart rhythm and often leading to sudden death. Although CC was once viewed as being exceedingly rare, the number of reported cases is rising. Cases demonstrate no structural damage to myocardial tissue at autopsy, and victims are typically young and otherwise healthy. Ventricular fibrillation (VF) is the most common arrhythmia, with early defibrillation improving survival rates.

A study analyzing a swine model brought to light many factors that play a role in CC. Timing
and location10 of the blow, as well as speed12 and hardness of the projectile,15 determine whether CC will cause sudden death. The underlying mechanism is thought to be an increase in ventricular pressure leading to activation of stretch channels.

 

More Updates on Hamlin
 

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