Damar Hamlin Suffers Commotio Cordis

Joie Warnke, Reporter

On January 2nd, 2023, the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals faced off at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati, OH, for a regular season match up. During the first quarter of the game, Buffalo’s safety, Damar Hamlin, suffered a brutal blow to the chest. He initially stood up, but was seen to fall limp and collapsed to the ground. Medical staff from the Bills administered CPR for nine minutes, used an AED (automated external defibrillator) in order to get his heart started again, and then Hamlin was rushed to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. There, he was said to be in critical condition. He was intubated, meaning he had a tube placed down his throat to help him breathe. 

It was later announced by the Bills that Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest. But how could this have possibly happened by only a hit to the chest?

The condition explained by doctors and medical professionals is commonly referred to as Commotio Cordis. Commotio Cordis occurs when there is a non-penetrating, (meaning the skin is not broken) blunt-force trauma to the heart that causes a sudden cardiac death. The actual structure of the heart (its tissue and muscle) is not damaged whatsoever, but it is the electrical rhythm of the heart that is shocked and disrupted.

However, the blow that causes Commotio Cordis cannot happen at just any one instance. It has to occur at just the exact time in the cardiac cycle. 

There are three types of electrical currents that are involved in one contraction of the heart. The first is the P wave, which is when the atrium (the chambers at the top of the heart) contract. The second is the QRS complex, which is when the ventricles (the chambers at the bottom of the heart) contract. The third and final is the T wave, which is where the heart begins to reset and prepare itself for the next contraction. In order for Commotio Cordis to occur, the hit to the heart has to happen during the T wave at just the right moment. Since the blow to Damar Hamlin’s heart occurred when the heart was resetting and preparing for another contraction, it caused an arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat), and then sent his heart into cardiac arrest.

As of now, Damar Hamlin has since recovered from what was a frightening event. He was in the hospital for about a week before being transferred to the hospital in Buffalo for a total of two days. After a series of testing, Hamlin was released home to his family and is currently making a full recovery. He recently just visited his teammates at a practice, and seems to be doing better each day.  

 

Link to video explanation by Doctor Brian Sutterer.