BETHLEHEM, Pa. — NFL fans watched in horror Monday night when, during the first quarter of a game, Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field, then received CPR and was rushed off on a stretcher suffering from cardiac arrest.
Dr. Daniel Makowski, a cardiologist with Lehigh Valley Health Network, said having physicians on the sidelines to administer fast medical treatment was in Hamlin’s favor.
Makowski said the heart stops during cardiac arrest, so having fast-acting physicians could prove to be life-saving.
- Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest on the field
- Hamlin, 24, was listed in critical condition Tuesday
- A Lehigh Valley cardiologist said the safety's best chance at survival came from the fast-acting medical team on the sidelines
Hamlin, 24, remained in critical condition at a Cincinnati hospital Tuesday.
And Makowski explained the best- and worst-case scenarios for the player.
“When your heart stops, you're essentially dead and what brings you back to life is CPR and those resuscitative efforts,” Makowski said.
“He has the benefit of youth and health on his side. Obviously, he's a professional athlete, takes very good care of his body, he's very physically active. So those are favorable things for him.”
The cardiologist said the condition is caused by a dangerous heart rhythm, which could be the result of a hit to the chest, but could also be caused by other health factors.
“Best case scenario, you know, what we see sometimes in cardiac arrest, when you get immediate CPR and defibrillation and get a normal rhythm back is that after that period of time, you're able to make a recovery,” Makowski said.
“Worst-case scenario that we typically see with cardiac arrest is we're left with other organ damage, specifically other organs in the body, and the one that we worry about the most is the brain.”
The doctor went on to say cardiac arrest usually is seen in patients who have heart attacks, so symptoms to watch out for include chest pain, shortness of breath, and retaining fluid in the body.
“These are typically people that we think about as superhuman and that nothing bad can happen to them, but it is a dangerous sport that's played and things can happen."Dr. Daniel Makowski, cardiologist, Lehigh Valley Health Network
He said in this situation, the time it takes to receive CPR and get to a hospital are the keys to survival.
“These are typically people that we think about as superhuman and that nothing bad can happen to them, but it is a dangerous sport that's played and things can happen,” Makowski said.
The NFL suspended the rest of the Buffalo Bills-Cincinnati Bengals game after the incident.
