As we celebrate Health Care Hero Week, I wanted to remind everyone how they can be a health care hero even if they are not directly involved in medicine.
A lot of us may have learned CPR at one point in our lives. I first learned CPR as a Boy Scout, then as a lifeguard in high school, then again as a physical therapist. I have had to perform CPR on a patient while doing home health, though unfortunately the patient did not survive. My wife performed CPR on someone at an Ultimate Frisbee Tournament after a lightning strike; that person quickly responded and was fine. In fact, on April 10, 1994, a lightning strike hit an Ultimate Frisbee Tournament in Tennessee where a lot of my friends were playing. I’m sorry to write, one player passed away at the field that was struck directly. Another, who was also struck, received CPR at the field. Her name was Carmen, and she did survive but ended up with significant brain damage and never was the same. But she did live, thanks to CPR. CPR is one of those things that we never think we must use but when it is needed, it saves lives.
Something else that can be lifesaving is cardiac screening for athletes and access to an AED at sports or fitness facilities. I just attended a sports medicine symposium here in town that was held at the Jaguars’ stadium where the emphasis was on sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) in athletes. Some of you, I am certain, will recall the event that happened in the game between the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals on “Monday Night Football” this past season. Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field, basically died, and was brought back to life. Thanks to the quick actions and preparedness of all the health care “heroes” and the rapid use of an automated external defibrillator (AED), Damar Hamlin appears to have made a very healthy recovery. Damar has been a huge advocate and supporter for the Access to AED Act recently introduced into Congress.
Unfortunately, a lot of athletes, particularly, young athletes participating in sporting events don’t have the luxury of highly trained, well-prepared and -equipped emergency personnel at their immediate disposal when they have an unexpected life-threatening event such as SCA. One of the speakers of the symposium, was the executive director of an organization called Who We Play For. Who We Play For was created by teammates of a 15-year-old high school soccer player named Rafe Maccarone who suffered a sudden cardiac arrest event during a break in soccer practice and passed away the next day back in 2007. I highly encourage you to read the entire story of that event on their website, www.whoweplayfor.org. Who We Play For has been instrumental in getting electrocardiogram (ECG) testing as part of annual sports pre-participation physicals. Rafe had been cleared for participation for sports with his typical sports physical. Had Rafe received an ECG as part of his pre-participation physical, he and his family would have found out he had an undiagnosed condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The organization also raises funds to supply AEDs and assist schools and sporting events in the development of emergency action plans in an attempt to prevent as many athletes as possible suffering Rafe’s unfortunate outcome.
If you have a young athlete who participates in sports or events that require intense physical activity, I highly encourage you to request an ECG screening for your child as part of their annual pre-participation physical. If you are a coach of a team, please get your CPR certification and stay current. Also, learn where the AED is for the facility or field your team may be playing. If you are an event organizer, have an emergency action plan in place and provide it to all the coaches for your events. Please make sure your event has an easily accessible AED that is fully charged and that all coaches know where it is. Hopefully, none of you will have to be an unexpected health care hero, but knowing CPR, having access and known location of an AED and including how to use it, you could ultimately be one someday.
Dr. Chris Kopp PT, DPT, is a licensed physical therapist and is a board-certified orthopedic clinical specialist and Titleist Performance Institute certified. He is the owner of Premier Physical Therapy and can be reached at info@premierptjax.com or online at www.premierptjax.com.
