How common are cardiac arrests in athletes like Damar Hamlin?
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(CNN) --
After going into cardiac arrest midgame Monday, Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin remains sedated and on a ventilator while doctors work to get him breathing on his own, according to an update. offered by the player's uncle.
The 24-year-old was still in critical condition as of Tuesday night, his uncle Dorrian Glenn told CNN, after his on-field collapse the night before led to the suspension of the Bills' game against the Cincinnati Bengals. , stunning a packed stadium that moments before had vibrated with Hamlin's tackle of a Bengals wide receiver.
Damar Hamlin of the Buffalo Bills collapses on the field
Within seconds, medical personnel rushed onto the field to administer CPR and resuscitate Hamlin in front of his teammates, many of whom fell to their knees, openly prayed or cried, and hugged each other.
Hamlin would be revived twice that night: once on the field and again when he was rushed to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, where he was still being treated Tuesday night, his uncle said.
LeBron James sends his support to Damar Hamlin 1:57
“I'm not a crybaby, but I've never cried so much in my life.
Just knowing that my nephew basically died in the field and they brought him back to life,” Glenn said.
Hamlin is on a ventilator to relieve some of the stress on his lungs, which were damaged, according to Glenn.
Doctors told Glenn that his niece had also been "turned face down" at the hospital to help with the blood in his lungs, he said.
And he added: "It seems to be improving in a positive way."
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The game was suspended nearly six minutes from the end of the first quarter, and then officially postponed.
The NFL said Tuesday that play will not resume this week and no decision has been made on whether to resume play at a later date.
On-field injuries are not uncommon in the league, which often resumes play even after serious cases, but several current and former players have said Hamlin's cardiac arrest felt especially unsettling as medical staff scrambled to save his life. life as fans and players watched.
Bills offensive tackle Dion Dawkins said he realized the severity of his teammate's condition when Hamlin remained on the ground as more and more medical personnel were called.
“At that point, you're just thinking, 'What can I do?
What can we do?'
And it immediately brings you to prayer," Dawkins told CNN's Wolf Blitzer.
“Whether you are a believer or not, only a higher power can truly take control of what follows.
And our people who help also helped that higher power.”
Hamlin's collapse is just the latest in a series of tragic blows to players and the community in Buffalo, which in recent months has seen a racially motivated mass shooting and a historic blizzard that left at least 41 people dead in the Erie County, New York.
“It's been, you know, a constant beating for Buffalo,” Dawkins said.
An overwhelming outpouring of support surrounded Hamlin and his family with messages of prayers and well wishes from star athletes, fans and national leaders.
A player-initiated fundraiser for his Chasing M's Foundation toy campaign has raised nearly US$6 million since his hospitalization.
At a prayer service for the player on Tuesday night, community members described the anguish of seeing "one of our own" endure such a crisis.
“All you can do now is pray for Damar.
The man, not the football player, not the Buffalo Bill, but the person.
He has to pull through,” said the city's poet laureate, Jillian Hanesworth.
Fans hold a candlelight prayer service for Hamlin at the UC Medical Center in Cincinnati, Ohio.
What caused Hamlin's cardiac arrest
It's still unclear what led to Hamlin's cardiac arrest, a condition that results from electrical disturbances that cause the heart to suddenly stop beating properly.
Death can occur quickly if help is not provided immediately.
It is not the same as a heart attack or heart failure.
CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, explained that when the heart is not beating properly, fluid can sometimes back up into the lungs and make it difficult for medical staff to oxygenate the patient.
Therefore, they turn the person face down to facilitate breathing.
This is how Christian Eriksen returned to football after suffering a cardiac arrest on the pitch
Gupta also said it appears Hamlin still has a significant amount of cardiac dysfunction and his heart is unable to pump enough blood.
One of the treatment options is to decrease the body's demand for oxygenated blood, he told CNN's Anderson Cooper.
What happened to Damar Hamlin?
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"You're looking to improve the amount of circulation, but in the meantime, you can also decrease the demand by sedating someone, by keeping them on a ventilator," he said.
“Sometimes they even use cooling agents, it's called hypothermia, to basically put the body into a state more like hibernation so it doesn't demand as much oxygenated blood.
That would be partly the reason why he would also be connected to a respirator.
In a statement dated Tuesday, the Hamlin family thanked the UC Medical Center staff "who have provided exceptional care for Damar."
“On behalf of our family, we want to express our sincerest appreciation for the love and support shown to Damar during this difficult time.
We are deeply moved by the prayers, kind words and donations from fans across the country," the statement read.
'This is a brutal sport.
I think people forget that'
Several star athletes, including tennis player Coco Gauff, the NFL's JJ Watt and NBA legend Lebron James, have applauded the NFL's decision to postpone the game and stressed the importance of Hamlin's safe recovery over that of the outcome. of the party
Former NFL player Donté Stallworth said the league's decision to postpone the game would not have happened years ago.
"Five or 10 years ago, the game probably would have picked up again," he told CNN's Jim Sciutto.
“I don't know if you can make the game much more secure,” he said.
“This is a brutal sport.
I think people forget about that.
Sometimes they see players more as commodities, especially with fantasy football.
Sometimes we forget the human side, that these players are actually human beings and they have families and they have wives and children," she added, noting that "Hamlin's mother was there witnessing this with her own eyes."
Dawkins said he was relieved and grateful his team didn't have to keep playing.
Damar Hamlin collapses on the field of play 0:53
"The fact that we didn't have to go back on that field and play shows that there is care, and that's all we can ask for, to be treated like people," he said.
"Because most people just treat us like athletes, like superstars, and some people like celebrities, but at that time they treated us like people."
Bills players and staff are still processing the events of Monday night, a source inside the team told CNN's Coy Wire.
The ongoing impact of Hamlin's hospitalization, in addition to the mass shooting in the city in May, the deadly December blizzard, having to play a November home game in Detroit and being stuck in Chicago over the holidays, has been heavy on everyone associated with the club, the source said.
“Everyone is exhausted,” the source told Wire, adding that the team's flight back to New York didn't land until 3:30 a.m. ET on Tuesday.
CNN's Adrienne Broaddus reported from Cincinnati and Amanda Watts reported from Atlanta while Elizabeth Wolfe reported and wrote from Los Angeles. CNN's David Close, Homero De la Fuente, Jason Hanna, Steve Almasy, Wayne Sterling, Laura Ly, Jamiel Lynch and Kevin Dotson also contributed to this report.
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