TREAT SCD DAMAR HAMLIN BRINGS THE LIFE-THREATENING CONDITION TO THE HEADLINES

 BY NORA HESTON TARTE

The world stopped when Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field in Cincinnati, while his team, the Buffalo Bills, were playing the Bengals. What unfolded next was unprecedented, resulting in, cardiac arrest, on-field resuscitation, and eventually, a canceled game.

So, what happened to Damar Hamlin? Doctors have been floating theories across social media, but what we do know is that #3 suffered from SCD, or sudden cardiac arrest, which refers to any event that leads to a sudden loss of heart function and consciousness. It happened after Damar took what looked like a routine a hit to the chest. SCD refers to sudden cardiac death.

Dr. Ramin Manshadi has his own theories about what happened on the field that day. Admitting he cannot say 100 percent what the cause, his professional opinion after watching the slow-motion replay is that Damar suffered a commotio

Cordis, a condition in which if one gets hit in the chest right when the ventricle is electrically relaxing, it can precipitate into a very pathologic arrhythmia, which will lead to pump dysfunction and if electrical activity is not immediately restored, it can lead to sudden cardiac death. “This is why an AED can help save lives,” he says.

As far as preventing commotio cordis, there isn’t much to be done. “Electrolyte imbalance, alcohol abuse, drug abuse, some medications, or some genetic predisposition can all cause malignant arrhythmia. One would think that this could potentiate the effect of commotio Cordis. The bottom line, stay away from [the] above, and more importantly, all schools should have AEDs in close proximity to any contact sports,” Dr. Manshadi says. If none of these underlying issues exist, it comes down to luck. “You cannot really prevent it in a contact sport. Yet, it is very, very rare.”

If you suspect someone near you may be suffering an SCA, act quickly. Anyone who is around athletes can and should learn both CPR and AED use, skills Dr. Manshadi says his teens learned recently. “If someone goes down and is unconscious, one has to check for a pulse, and if there is no pulse, one starts CPR and uses AEDs.”

The upside is while not all SCA outcomes are positive, young athletes have a better chance of recovery. “If someone is young and they used AED… within three minutes, then full recovery is expected.”