Bills safety Damar Hamlin is about to start his team in Week 1 against the Arizona Cardinals, Buffalo has announced – a year after he suffered a cardiac arrest on the field. The 26-year-old was brought back to life on the field in front of thousands watching a game in Cincinnati on television in January 2023.
“What else can’t this young man do? He basically went through what he went through on the field, you guys have written about that over and over, and to come back from that,” Bills coach Sean McDermott told reporters. “It’s one thing to come back off of an ACL or a broken bone. It’s another thing to come back off of what he came back off of, right? Let alone just decide to play football and contact football in full pads at the NFL level. I don’t think I need to say anything more. It’s incredible,” he added.
Hamlin was diagnosed with commotio cordis – an extremely rare, serious medical condition that can happen after a sudden, blunt impact to the chest, as described by the American Heart Association. He was cleared to return to football in April and remains a backup safety and special teams player for the Bills.
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After making a tackle on Bengals receiver Tee Higgins, Hamlin stood up, passed out, and fell backward. His heartbeat had to be restored on the field before he was taken to a hospital.
What is commotio cordis?
According to experts, commotio cordis consists of an abnormal heart rhythm – known as ventricular fibrillation and cardiac arrest right after a hit on the chest. Doctors say in most cases, the cause is a baseball, hockey puck, or lacrosse ball hitting the left side of your chest.
Immediate CPR provides your best chance of surviving commotio cordis.
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It is an extremely rare condition, which means the “agitation of the heart”, which disrupts the normal heart rhythm leading to sudden cardiac arrest, which can be fatal if not addressed immediately.
According to statistics by the Cleveland Clinic, cases of commotio cordis are extremely rare and there are fewer than 30 cases each year. The National Commotio Cordis Registry says this condition has caused sudden death in more than 220 people since 1996 when the registry began.
What causes commotio cordis?
Experts say getting hit at a 90-degree angle on the left side of your chest directly over the heart with a hard object at a speed of 40-50 mph can cause this life-threatening condition.
The unexpected blow then leads to ventricular fibrillation as when you get hit in a short time, the lower heart chambers or ventricles stop relaxing after a contraction. The force of the blow can make your ventricles contract when they are supposed to be resting.
Symptoms of commotio cordis
According to the doctors, a few symptoms of commotio cordis include:
- Collapse immediately after getting hit in the chest
- Ventricular fibrillation
- Cardiac arrest
- Unconsciousness
- Breathlessness
What are the risk factors and complications of commotio cordis?
Doctors say commotio cordis happens most often to people who:
- Play sports – especially involved a baseball or another hard object like hockey
- Are younger than 20 years of age
- Are males