Damar Hamlin’s in-game collapse

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smstachwick

smstachwick

LPR/MPR sport flier with an eye to HPR and scale
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Doing my normal cruise through social media tonight, my feeds have been stuffed with a frightening story that has touched me in a way that I can’t quite explain: Damar Hamlin, safety for the Buffalo Bills (American football, for international readers) tackled Tee Higgins of the Cincinnati Bengals, got up, and collapsed within seconds.

Hamlin’s team trainers and paramedics rushed to his aid and it became immediately clear that he was unresponsive, his injuries serious. Current media reports indicate he suffered cardiac arrest, that he received CPR and defibrillation for 10 minutes while the stadium watched in stunned silence, and that he was put on oxygen and IV before being loaded into an ambulance and transported to a hospital. As of this writing, my most recent look at the feed indicates he is in critical condition. The rest of the game has been postponed, and the mood throughout the league remains somber.

I do not follow football. I have no passion for the game, no love for the National Football League, and certainly no attachment to the Bills. Never even heard of Damar Hamlin until this evening. But something like this has a way of attracting people’s attention, as fans of every affiliation lend their support to Hamlin and to each other. Some things go beyond the worlds they happen in and touch us all.

Feel free to share updates if you get them. This is the kind of thing that I think will remain a major story for some time.
 
Football star Robert Griffin III shared this photo on his Twitter account, depicting the Bills taking a knee to pray for their teammate

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hobie1dog said:
I just read another note which said that he is not able to breathe by himself and is on life support.
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Unlike depictions on TV, it is pretty rare for someone to regain consciousness enough to not be sedated and intubated immediately upon receiving CPR and a shock during cardiac arrest. If we get a heart beat back, people usually aren't breathing well enough on their own yet that we have to keep them sedated on a ventilator while the body heals.

It's really hard judging someone's condition through news reports, but if his heart is still beating, it's a good sign and it's too early to predict neurological outcome. With his age and the fact that medics were on site with early CPR and early defibrillation, his chances for a good outcome are greatly increased.
 
NateB said:
Unlike depictions on TV, it is pretty rare for someone to regain consciousness enough to not be sedated and intubated immediately upon receiving CPR and a shock during cardiac arrest. If we get a heart beat back, people usually aren't breathing well enough on their own yet that we have to keep them sedated on a ventilator while the body heals.

It's really hard judging someone's condition through news reports, but if his heart is still beating, it's a good sign and it's too early to predict neurological outcome. With his age and the fact that medics were on site with early CPR and early defibrillation, his chances for a good outcome are greatly increased.
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Yep, lots of movies and shows are notorious for incorrect portrayal of recovery from cardiac or pulmonary arrest, although I think my favorite may be The Sandlot.
 
It's very surprising that more of these players aren't taken to the hospital every game. He took a helmet to the chest pretty hard. I'm guessing they'll eventually announce that was the cause of the heart attack.

 
Mushtang said:
It's very surprising that more of these players aren't taken to the hospital every game. He took a helmet to the chest pretty hard. I'm guessing they'll eventually announce that was the cause of the heart attack.

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To be technical, heart attack is distinct from cardiac arrest. It’s a specific form caused by dperivation of oxygen and nutrients to the heat muscles, most commonly from blocked arteries.

(Minor edits)
 
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smstachwick said:
To be technical, heart attack is distinct from cardiac arrest. It’s a specific form caused by derivation of oxygen and nutrients to the heat muscles, most commonly from blocked arteries.
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Also, a heart attack can, but does not need to cause cardiac arrest.
 
It is quite possible for a hard enough impact to the breastbone to cause a heart stoppage. Hockey goalie chest protectors have a very robust breastbone protector, typically carbon fiber with gel/foam padding on the chest side to cushion a puck impact. Considering that some players (like Alex Ovechkin) are capable of 100 mph+ shots, it's a good thing.
 
I was watching last night, that aside, for all the fans, players, everybody alike I wish there would be an update on his condition. They took tests etc. should know if the event was related to the hit or maybe undiagnosed heart condition whatever. Leaving everybody in the dark with so many people concerned is BS. They could have said something by now.
 
cbrarick said:
just spitballing... Commotio cordis
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It was this. I have zero doubt based on what I saw. That being said, my thoughts and prayers go out to him and his family.

I played TE and DE for 8 years and had a partial scholarship offer for small college football. I always feared this type of injury.
 
From what I read this afternoon, they had to restart his heart twice, once on the field and once in the ambulance. Latest from an uncle is that they're weening him off the oxygen now at 50%. Hopefully on the way removing the breathing tube and waking him up. Then a neurological eval, I'm guessing.
 
jsdemar said:
From what I read this afternoon, they had to restart his heart twice, once on the field and once in the ambulance. Latest from an uncle is that they're weening him off the oxygen now at 50%. Hopefully on the way removing the breathing tube and waking him up. Then a neurological eval, I'm guessing.
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You are not wrong. It will be a miracle. The good thing he is a professional athlete and young so his odds are better than the rest of us.
 
cbrarick said:
just spitballing... Commotio cordis
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No record of this ever occurring in the recent history of football (or Soccer for that matter). I've read there have been less than 200 instances of this happening in all of sports since they started keeping records of this. Almost all of the occurrences were in baseball, hockey and lacrosse (not even sure what lacrosse is). Not that it can't occur, just that it would be rare.

Edit: I do know what lacrosse is, I was just making a crude reference to the uniqueness of that sport.
 
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Bravo52 said:
Almost all of the occurrences were in baseball, hockey and lacrosse (not even sure what lacrosse is).
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Native American game played with sticks with small nets on them. Similar rules to Ice Hockey in that you can go behind the goalkeeper's net.

Fast, full contact sport. Watch a few you-tube vids to get the vibe. Not surprising to see this injury in Lacrosse.
 
I am not a football guy at all and not much of a TV guy either, so I just heard about this tonight. I wish the best for he and his extended family.

As odd as it is, I do like some sports and at times the participants are at big risks to themselves and once a bad event occurs, the risks seem unreasonable to many of us, but before the bad event, it is just normal risk.

I think of both this guy and our own @Cl(VII) - a bad hit during a good game (/ride) is a big deal.

Best wishes for perfect outcomes for everyone who gets a bad hit in whatever sport they enjoy. While bad things happen, it is hugely important to participate in what you enjoy, even if there are measured risks.

Sandy.
 
Bravo52 said:
No record of this ever occurring in the recent history of football (or Soccer for that matter). I've read there have been less than 200 instances of this happening in all of sports since they started keeping records of this. Almost all of the occurrences were in baseball, hockey and lacrosse (not even sure what lacrosse is). Not that it can't occur, just that it would be rare.
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Cape Byron said:
Native American game played with sticks with small nets on them. Similar rules to Ice Hockey in that you can go behind the goalkeeper's net.

Fast, full contact sport. Watch a few you-tube vids to get the vibe. Not surprising to see this injury in Lacrosse.
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What the Aussie said. It’s played with a very hard, dense, rubber ball. Fling it at somebody’s sternum (or really at any body region) from the end of a long stick and you’ve got yourself a good recipe for nasty injuries.

Overall I’d call the commotio cordis theory plausible. The replay does not do that justice, that’s the kind of hit that hurts you.
 
Sandy H. said:
I am not a football guy at all and not much of a TV guy either, so I just heard about this tonight. I wish the best for he and his extended family.

As odd as it is, I do like some sports and at times the participants are at big risks to themselves and once a bad event occurs, the risks seem unreasonable to many of us, but before the bad event, it is just normal risk.

I think of both this guy and our own @Cl(VII) - a bad hit during a good game (/ride) is a big deal.

Best wishes for perfect outcomes for everyone who gets a bad hit in whatever sport they enjoy. While bad things happen, it is hugely important to participate in what you enjoy, even if there are measured risks.

Sandy.
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I think most football players get on the field anticipating the usual strains, sprains, groin crushes, dislocations, fractures, perhaps a concussion. I don’t think most anticipate or weigh the risk that their heart will stop beating. It’s pretty distinct from something like motorsport where the possibility of fatalities looms over the event like a dark shadow.
 
smstachwick said:
… I don’t think most anticipate or weigh the risk that their heart will stop beating…
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My understanding is that “stopping the heart from beating” is a very difficult thing to do without extreme measures. Obviously a strong hit to the right location might be one of those.
 
Bravo52 said:
My understanding is that “stopping the heart from beating” is a very difficult thing to do without extreme measures. Obviously a strong hit to the right location might be one of those.
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It's all about timing. Even a low impact blow (such as a punch to the chest) during ventricular repolarisation (when the heart is vulnerable) can cause it.
 
smstachwick said:
I think most football players get on the field anticipating the usual strains, sprains, groin crushes, dislocations, fractures, perhaps a concussion. I don’t think most anticipate or weigh the risk that their heart will stop beating. It’s pretty distinct from something like motorsport where the possibility of fatalities looms over the event like a dark shadow.
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Zero argument in principle, but every time I put a belt on (or put a belt on someone else), I believe(d) that the prep done on the car would keep the driver safe - zero broken bones, zero blood, just sore after a good day and maybe a bit extra sore after a bad day.

Personally, I think modern motorsports is less of a gladiator sport vs. American Football, Boxing etc. There have been terrible motorsport casualties over the years for sure (sometimes fans as well, which is horrible++). My personal feeling is that when I attend or view a motorsport event the goal is hard competition that might cause a benign spin or two, but the reality is that there will be some crashes that are hard hits. Football guarantees some hard hits every down or five. MMA has a hard hit at times, I've heard.

My initial point was intended to mean I hope people participating in various sports know the risks and also accept those risks. I have no desire for people to be hurt in their sport for sure, but there is risk and we all likely need to live with those risks to actually LIVE. Maybe I'm wrong, but there are miles behind me where I wish I'd have lived more, even if the risk wasn't pleasant

Sandy.
 
Good points above. Nothing to argue with at all.

One thing I didn’t see mentioned here is that the decision to suspend the game was made by the players on both teams refusing to continue play. The league wanted them to get on with the game, but quickly caved to save face.
 
Cape Byron said:
Native American game played with sticks with small nets on them. Similar rules to Ice Hockey in that you can go behind the goalkeeper's net.

Fast, full contact sport. Watch a few you-tube vids to get the vibe. Not surprising to see this injury in Lacrosse.
Click to expand...
A local team we played in lacrosse had a goalie die from a shot to the chest. I did get a new chest protector out of the deal after I told my parents about it, but I was a little uneasy with people taking wide open shots on goal for a little while after that.
 
smstachwick said:
Good points above. Nothing to argue with at all.

One thing I didn’t see mentioned here is that the decision to suspend the game was made by the players on both teams refusing to continue play. The league wanted them to get on with the game, but quickly caved to save face.
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Source?
 

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