New York: Quick on-the-field emergency care from well-rehearsed medical personnel is widely credited with helping save Damar Hamlin’s life. But whether his cardiac arrest could have been prevented is much less certain.
Doctors say they’re still evaluating what caused Hamlin’s heart to stop after a tackle during Monday night’s game in Cincinnati. One possibility — a fluke type of chest trauma called commotio cordis — is impossible to predict or prevent.
Existing heart conditions are the most common cause of sudden cardiac arrest in young athletes. Some of them can be detected through tests including EKGs, which measure the heart’s electrical activity, and echocardiograms, ultrasound imaging exams that show how the heart muscle and valves are working.
The American Heart Association and American Academy of Pediatrics don’t recommend them for routine use in high school and youth sports because false-positive results would exclude too many athletes, Peterson said.
Routine physical exams should include questions about family history of heart disease and worrisome symptoms including fainting episodes, rapid heart rate and chest pain during activity, said Dr. Mariell Jessup, the heart association’s chief medical officer. Cardiac tests would be warranted to investigate those symptoms, she said.
