How Does Cardiac Arrest Happen to a Young Athlete Like Damar Hamlin?

The nation is still in shock after Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin went down suddenly during the first quarter of his team’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday night. About nine minutes into the game, the 24-year-old was hit mid-game. Then he stood up almost instantly, and fell to the ground a few seconds later.A sort of tweet A message from the Buffalo Bills’ official Twitter account confirmed that Hamlin “went into cardiac arrest following the blow.”

Paramedics on call quickly performed CPR on Hamlin for 10 minutes before placing him on a stretcher and taking him to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center in an ambulance, it said. New York Times. According to a tweet from the Buffalo Bills, Hamlin’s heartbeat has “returned”; he is in critical condition.

Members of both teams were understandably emotional after Hamlin went down, and the game was eventually postponed. “None of the coaches are talking about resuming play, and the players aren’t thinking about resuming play,” said Troy Vincent, the NFL’s executive vice president of football operations, according to New York Times. “How do you get back into the game after seeing a traumatic event like this?” (Worth noting: NFL soon to be attacked How long did it take officials to call off the race. )

If you witnessed this event, you probably have one major question: How did something so sudden and devastating happen to a seemingly healthy young athlete? Next, experts explain the underlying causes of cardiac arrest in this case — and what the road to recovery might look like.

What happens during cardiac arrest?

First, it’s important to note that Hamlin’s medical history is between him and his doctors — without the involvement of his care team, there’s no way of knowing what exactly triggered the incident. That said, attention needs to be paid to the various identified causes of cardiac arrest, as well as the athlete’s history of cardiac arrest that is worth exploring.

Cardiac arrest means the heart suddenly stops functioning, according to American Heart Association (ah ha). It occurs when the heart’s electrical system malfunctions and the heart stops pumping blood.It is said to be a serious medical emergency National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI); Nine out of 10 people who experience cardiac arrest outside a hospital die, usually within minutes.

“When the heart stops, there is no blood flow to the brain or body, so the victim collapses suddenly,” Jennifer Hayes, MDassistant professor of medicine and co-director of the Center for Women’s Cardiovascular Health at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City, tells SELF. In this case, a person may pass out, stop breathing, or lose a pulse.

this American Heart Association Say potential causes of cardiac arrest vary widely, but almost anything known can be a trigger heart problemssuch as cardiomyopathy, scarring of heart tissue, cardiac arrhythmias, heart valve disease, and electrical abnormalities.

According to the NHLBI, half of all sudden cardiac arrests reported in the United States actually happen to people who don’t know they have a heart attack. For example, in young athletes, cardiac arrest may be triggered by congenital heart disease, which is an abnormality of the heart that develops before birth, MD Ronald Mag, an assistant professor of medicine and medical director of the Baylor Heart Clinic in Houston, tells SELF. “It could be that something has been missed over time,” he explained.