PEORIA, Ill. – One local cardiologist says age will likely play a factor in how well Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin recovers from cardiac arrest following a tackle in the Monday Night Football game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Hamlin is only 24.
“Anybody within his age group with cardiac arrest, the outcome is going to be much better than…older gentlemen or females sustaining cardiac arrest,” said Dr. Ram Devadoss, Interventional Cardiologist, UnityPoint Health Peoria.
Devadoss says the collision itself with the Bengals player, or any sort of heart abnormality — genetic or otherwise — could be to blame for the cardiac episode. But he also says just as important is ruling out all other possibilities before an official diagnosis can be done.
Devadoss says timing was everything when Hamlin collapsed. He says CPR done on the field after the collapse was huge.
“The key element is the time between the heart stopping and giving the shock,” said Devadoss. “There’s been a lot of advocacy about trying to shorten the time as much as possible, to avoid any effect from other organs not having blood for such a long time.”
Devadoss says that’s partly why you see defibrillators everywhere, especially at places like gyms, so that shocking the heart can be done sooner rather than later, if it stops.
Should Hamlin ever play football again?
“It’s going to be high risk for him to play again, especially with a high-intensity game,” said Devadoss. “There are some reports that this can happen again, if he gets hit in the same way, in the same time period.”
Devadoss also suggests that perhaps how hard football is played on the professional level should be looked into — making sure in this case things like good chest pads and other equipment are used.
Hamlin remains in critical condition as of Tuesday afternoon. Devadoss says it may still take some time for any potential damage to the heart to “show itself” following the injury.
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