“I’m not sure where that came from,” Vincent said. Vincent refuted ESPN’s broadcast report that both teams were given a five-minute warmup period to resume playing. “It was obvious on the phone that the emotions were extremely high. “It was fluid and things were changing by the minute,” Vincent said. Dawn Aponte, the league’s chief football administrative officer, was at the game and communicated with Bills coach Sean McDermott and Bengals coach Zac Taylor and the referee. Vincent communicated with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith. Troy Vincent, the league’s executive vice president of football operations, said that the NFL’s Emergency Action Plan was activated. It took the NFL about one hour after Hamlin collapsed to officially suspend the game because league executives were gathering information and communicating with referee Shawn Smith, coaches from both teams and the NFL Players Association. Hamlin’s medical history has not been made public. “The teachable moment is learn CPR,’’ Jessup said. Survival depends on quick CPR and shocking the heart back into a normal rhythm, as reportedly happened with Hamlin. have sudden cardiac arrests in non-hospital settings each year, according to the American Heart Association. “It is not uncommon to find out that very vigorous athletes have undiagnosed cardiac conditions even if they’re young players,” she said. Mariell Jessup, the American Heart Association’s chief medical officer. In general, underlying heart disease is the most common cause of sudden cardiac arrest, said Dr. It could be that Hamlin had a pre-existing heart condition that caused his heart to stop, although that is speculative, Chugh said. Aman Chugh, a University of Michigan cardiology professor, noted that hard-hitting tackles are extremely common in football and that commotio cordis is extremely rare. Doctors can help reduce that risk with deep sedation to give the brain a rest, he said.ĭr. The main worry for survivors is brain damage from lack of oxygen when the heart stops pumping blood, Link said. Mark Link of UT Southwestern Medical Center. Rod Passman, director of the center for arrythmia research at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine.Ĭommotio cordis occurs “probably 20 times a year,’’ and about 60% of those affected survive, said heart rhythm specialist Dr. The condition only happens during a rare set of circumstances: when a sharp hit lands directly over the heart “at the exact wrong location at the exact wrong timing” during the heart’s rhythm cycle, said Dr. Commotio cordis occurs when a severe blow to the chest causes the heartbeat to quiver, leading to sudden cardiac arrest. WHAT COULD HAVE CAUSED HAMLIN’S CARDIAC ARREST?Ĭardiac specialists say it’s too soon to know what caused Hamlin’s heart to stop, but a rare type of trauma called commotio cordis is among the possible culprits. WXIX-TV in Cincinnati reported that Hamlin required an automated external defibrillator (AED) in addition to CPR on the field. Hamlin was down for 19 minutes while receiving medical attention. Hamlin quickly got to his feet, appeared to adjust his face mask with his right hand, and then fell backward about three seconds later and lay motionless. Hamlin then wrapped his arms around Higgins’ shoulders and helmet to drag him down. Higgins was running with the ball on a 13-yard pass from Joe Burrow when he led with his right shoulder, hitting Hamlin in the chest. Hamlin was hurt while tackling Bengals receiver Tee Higgins on a seemingly routine play that didn’t appear unusually violent. Teammate Stefon Diggs later went to visit Hamlin at the hospital while fans of both teams gathered outside, holding lit candles and praying. He was taken by ambulance to University of Cincinnati Medical Center. Many were weeping and praying while Hamlin was treated on the field by team and independent medical personnel and local paramedics. Teammates surrounded Hamlin, shielding him from public view. The 24-year-old Hamlin was administered CPR on the field. “He is currently sedated and listed in critical condition.” His heartbeat was restored on the field and he was transferred to the UC Medical Center for further testing and treatment,” the Bills said in a statement released early Tuesday. “Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest following a hit in our game versus the Bengals.

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