>> JOINING ME IS DR. KATE ELFREY, A CARDIOLOGIST AT MERCY MEDICAL CENTER. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TAKING THE TIME TO COME IN AND TALK WITH US. IT WAS A VERY DRAMATIC THING HAPPEN. YOU SAW WHAT HAPPENED. WE WANT TO MAKE IT CLEAR YOU ARE NOT TREATING DAMAR HAMLIN, SO YOU OBVIOUSLY CAN’T GIVE A DIAGNOSIS, BUT YOU DID SEE THE VIDEO WHAT IS YOUR IMPRESSION OF WHAT HAPPENED? >> I THINK THAT WITH THE FOOTING THAT I SAW MOST LIKELY COMMOTIO CORDIS. MOST LIKELY THE BLUNT-FORCE TRAUMA HITTING HIS CHEST AT JUST THE RIGHT TIME STARTED AN ARRHYTHMIA THAT TRIGGERED THE UNDERLYING CARDIAC ARREST. IT HAS TO HAPPEN IN THE PERFECT STORM. IT IS VERY RARE. WE’RE NOTICING IT MORE OFTEN IN YOUNGER MALE ATHLETES AS WE START TO NOTICE SUDDEN CARDIAC DEATH IN THESE TYPES OF SITUATIONS. AND WE HAVE MORE DATA TO FIGURE OUT WHAT’S GOING ON. BASICALLY, OUR HEARTS ARE CONTROLLED BY AN ELECTRICAL CONDUCTION SYSTEM THE TRIGGER OUR HEART TO BEAT. IF THAT CIRCUIT IS INTERRUPTED AT JUST THE RIGHT TIME, IT CAN TRIGGER THE HEART TO GO INTO A DANGEROUS AND LETHAL IRREGULAR HEART RHYTHM WHICH IS CALLED VENTRICULAR FIBRILLATION. IN THAT SITUATION, THE HEART IS UNFORTUNATELY UNABLE TO PUMP ENOUGH BLOOD FLOW UP TO THE BRAIN SO THAT’S WHEN YOU WITNESS THE PASSING OUT, FALLING BACKWARDS, AND THE BODY IS NOT ABLE TO BE PERFUSED BY THE HEART MUSCLE. >> HE IS 24 YEARS OLD, DES THAT MAKE IT UNUSUAL? >> YES, MOST OF THE TIME IT’S IN YOUNGER MALES. I BELIEVE THE MEDIAN AGE IS 15-17 YEARS SOMETIMES YOUNGER AND THAT’S MOSTLY BECAUSE THE BREASTBONE IN THE STERNUM IS NOT FULLY DEVELOPED IN YOUNGER MALES. HIGHLY UNLIKELY IN MALES OVER THE AGE OF 20. BUT LIKE I TELL MY PATIENTS, NEVER SAY NEVER IN MEDICINE. EVERYBODY’S DIFFERENT. A LOT OF TIMES WHEN YOU HAVE UNDERLYING CARDIAC ARREST, THIS IS NOT THE MOST COMMON CAUSE. ESPECIALLY YOUNG. >> HE IS CURRENTLY AT UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI MEDICAL CENTER IN CRITICAL CONDITION. HE IS SEDATED. WHAT IS THE REASON FOR THAT? >> AGAIN NOT BEING INVOLVED IN HIS CARE, MY SUSPICION WOULD BE THAT NOW THAT WE KNOW THAT HIS HEART WAS RESTARTED ON THE FIELD WHICH IS A GREAT SIGN BEFORE HE EVEN GOT TO THE HOSPITAL HIS HEART WAS BACK IN RHYTHM, ONCE THE HEART GETS BACK IN RHYTHM, THE FOCUS BECOMES TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT HAPPENED THEN TRYING TO PRESERVE BRAIN FUNCTION. THE TIME THAT THE HEART WAS NOT BEATING WAS THE TIME THAT THE BRAIN WAS NOT GETTING OXYGEN. A LOT OF TIMES AFTER THAT HAPPENS, WE WILL SEDATE PATIENT TO COOL THEIR BODY TEMPERATURE DOWN, ALLOW THEIR VITAL ORGANS TO REST SO THEIR BRAIN CAN GET BETTER PERFUSION AND WHEN THEY WAKE UP AND THE SEDATION IS STOPPED, THEY ARE MORE LIKELY TO HAVE A BETTER NEUROLOGIC OUTCOME. >> HE WAS ABLE TO HAVE CPR RIGHT AWAY AND THAT WAS SO IMPORTANT. >> IF THAT’S THE ONE THING I CAN STRESS, LEARN HOW TO DO CPR. YOU WILL NEVER KNOW YOU HAVE A CHANCE TO SAVE A LIFE. THEY DEFINITELY SAVED HIS LIFE BY GETTING THERE RIGHT AWAY. >> THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING ME. >> CARDIAC ARREST IS NOT THE SAME AS A HEART ATTACK. SEE THE CAUSES OF CARDIAC ARREST AND LEARN WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE IMMEDIATELY TO SAVE SOMEONE’S LIFE. WE EXPLAIN, IN THE WBAL-T-V AP