Inside the hospital where Damar Hamlin's life was saved
Buffalo Bills player's trauma care highlights what is being done to overcome cardiac arrest, a leading cause of death in the United States.
< p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">CINCINNATI — Damar Hamlin, the Buffalo Bills player whose heart stopped during a game in Cincinnati on Jan. shouldn't have survived, judging by the statistics on cardiac arrests.Mr. Hamlin "was dead" when he fell to the ground, said Dr. Timothy A. Pritts, chief of the general surgery section at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, where Mr. Hamlin was treated.
>But the 24-year-old safety was discharged from hospital a week after his cardiac arrest with no apparent neurological deficit. He beat the odds after a stunning incident that traumatized loved ones, teammates, opponents and tens of millions of Monday Night Football viewers. A visit to the hospital and to the doctors, nurses and other medical staff who helped bring him back to life highlighted the mix of good preparation and good fortune that enabled Mr Hamlin to escape one of the leading causes of death in the United States.
Cardiac arrest, when the heart stops, is distinct from a heart attack, which occurs when blood flow in an artery supplying the heart is blocked. Outside of a hospital, more than 300,000 people a year experience cardiac arrest, also known as sudden cardiac death. The survival rate for those who have cardiac arrests outside of hospitals and, like Mr. Hamlin, have CPR, is just 11.2%. For the few people like Mr. Hamlin who receive immediate defibrillation, survival is 41%.
Mr. Hamlin's doctors said they were unable to discuss many details of his case, but were able to describe the procedures they use to treat patients like him.
Minutes count.
"A few extra minutes or even seconds and it could have been a different outcome," said emergency medicine and trauma specialist Dr. William Knight IV at the medical center.
Brain damage is likely if the person in cardiac arrest goes 4-6 minutes without CPR, and brain death occurs after 10 minutes. Only 8% of cardiac arrest survivors come out with a good neurological outcome. According to Monica Sales, spokeswoman for the American Heart Association, most "have some degree of brain damage".
Buffalo Bills player's trauma care highlights what is being done to overcome cardiac arrest, a leading cause of death in the United States.
< p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">CINCINNATI — Damar Hamlin, the Buffalo Bills player whose heart stopped during a game in Cincinnati on Jan. shouldn't have survived, judging by the statistics on cardiac arrests.Mr. Hamlin "was dead" when he fell to the ground, said Dr. Timothy A. Pritts, chief of the general surgery section at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, where Mr. Hamlin was treated.
>But the 24-year-old safety was discharged from hospital a week after his cardiac arrest with no apparent neurological deficit. He beat the odds after a stunning incident that traumatized loved ones, teammates, opponents and tens of millions of Monday Night Football viewers. A visit to the hospital and to the doctors, nurses and other medical staff who helped bring him back to life highlighted the mix of good preparation and good fortune that enabled Mr Hamlin to escape one of the leading causes of death in the United States.
Cardiac arrest, when the heart stops, is distinct from a heart attack, which occurs when blood flow in an artery supplying the heart is blocked. Outside of a hospital, more than 300,000 people a year experience cardiac arrest, also known as sudden cardiac death. The survival rate for those who have cardiac arrests outside of hospitals and, like Mr. Hamlin, have CPR, is just 11.2%. For the few people like Mr. Hamlin who receive immediate defibrillation, survival is 41%.
Mr. Hamlin's doctors said they were unable to discuss many details of his case, but were able to describe the procedures they use to treat patients like him.
Minutes count.
"A few extra minutes or even seconds and it could have been a different outcome," said emergency medicine and trauma specialist Dr. William Knight IV at the medical center.
Brain damage is likely if the person in cardiac arrest goes 4-6 minutes without CPR, and brain death occurs after 10 minutes. Only 8% of cardiac arrest survivors come out with a good neurological outcome. According to Monica Sales, spokeswoman for the American Heart Association, most "have some degree of brain damage".
What's Your Reaction?
