The entire sports world was shocked when Safety Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field, experiencing sudden cardiac arrest.
Hamlin’s condition has and will remain the most important thing since that fateful play on MNF. Slow, and positive updates are encouraging. Damar remains in critical condition though, and positive energy needs to continue to be extended to Damar, the Hamlin family, Tee Higgins, and the Bills and Bengals teams.
Most medical professionals weighing in believe that Hamlin’s injury was in result of the incredibly rare commotio cordis phenomenon. So rare in fact that the chances that a blow to the chest will result in commotio cordis is 1 in 200 million. There is less than a fifth of a second during the heart beat that a blow can result in this phenomena.
Commotio cordis is very rare in general, but it’s almost never seen in someone as old as Damar who is 24. There are less than 20 cases per year, and they almost always occur in teenage boys playing baseball. By age 20, the ribs typically harden and better protect against blunt trauma.
It is important to keep in mind that commotio cordis occurs in perfectly healthy hearts, so there is no reason to believe that Damar Hamlin has an underlying undetected heart condition. It also goes without saying that Tee Higgins is completely blameless and deserves our positive energy and support at this time as well.
Although there may be improvements that can be made to the NFL’s response to this incident, it’s hard to focus on that when Hamlin’s life and recovery is truly the only thing that matters.
The immediate response from the medical team with life saving measures is likely contributing to Hamlin’s health state at this time – survival goes down by 10% every minute CPR is not started after cardiac arrest occurs. The team was able to restore Hamlin’s heartbeat on the field after giving roughly 9-10 minutes of CPR. The medical team should be commended for their quick response in such a scary and rare scenario.
To contribute to Damar Hamlin’s official GoFundMe, find more info here.
For More Great Football Content
Follow us on Twitter at @GridironHeroics for more great content. We appreciate you taking time to read our articles. To interact more with our community and keep up to date on the latest in Football news, JOIN OUR FREE FACEBOOK GROUP by CLICKING HERE
