Commotio Cordis: The condition that could explain Damar Hamlin’s shock collapse
Abigail Adcox
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Twenty-four-year-old Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin remains in critical condition after collapsing on the field during Monday night’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Buffalo Bills said Tuesday that Hamlin had suffered a cardiac arrest following a hit in the game. Some experts have suggested that it was a case of Commotio Cordis, a condition that is caused by low or mild impact to the chest wall, explaining Hamlin’s shocking injury.
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“This Commotio Cordis is when you have traumatic chest injury at a specific time during your heart’s repolarization, during [the] time when a heartbeat is getting ready to beat again,” Dr. Anthony Cardillo, CEO of Mend Urgent Care, told CNN. “When you have chest trauma at that time, this is what happens. You have this sudden cardiac arrest and the ventricular fibrillation.”
Commotio Cordis typically happens in athletes between the ages of 8 and 18 years old who play hockey, lacrosse, or another sport, and are hit with projectiles. When athletes are struck in the middle of the chest with a low impact at the wrong time, it can cause the heart to enter an arrhythmia, or an irregular heartbeat, resulting in sudden cardiac arrest, according to the University of Connecticut’s Korey Stringer Institute.
“This is like getting struck by lightning,” said Cardillo. “We’re talking about milliseconds here as to when the heart has to be hit for this to happen.”
Korey Stringer Institute notes that Commotio Cordis can be confused with other conditions that are presented similarly, such as cardiac arrest and pulmonary conditions.
Cardiac arrest refers to when the heart stops beating suddenly. It is typically triggered by abnormalities in the heart but can be caused by a hard blow to the chest, per the Sports Institute.
The Buffalo Bills did not confirm whether Hamlin suffered from Commotio Cordis or another condition. Hamlin received CPR on the field for several minutes before he was taken in an ambulance to UC Medical Center in Cincinnati, where he is receiving treatment.
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It would not be the first time that Commotio Cordis has occurred in the professional sports world. In 1998, former St. Louis Blues hockey player Chris Pronger collapsed after taking a slapshot to the chest during a game. Pronger was hospitalized but made a full recovery and went on to have a Hall of Fame career.
“Prayers that Damar Hamlin can have the same outcome that I was fortunate to have with my incident. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Damar, his family, teammates, and the greater NFL community during this incredibly scary time,” Pronger tweeted Tuesday.