How to Protect Young Athletes from Sudden Cardiac Arrest
Could this life-threatening condition have been avoided for this prominent young athlete?
If young athletes appear to be at the peak of health, why do we occasionally hear stories of these healthy individuals experiencing a life-threatening condition such as sudden cardiac arrest?
In August of this year, 18-year-old Bronny James, the son of basketball star LeBron James, suffered sudden cardiac arrest while practicing with his college team at the University of Southern California. Thanks to quick medical attention by the team’s staff, this young athlete fortunately survived this experience.
While this event caught the public eye, sudden cardiac arrest has and can happen to other young athletes as well. This begs two important questions—is there any way to prevent this from happening? And what can you do to give someone the best chance of surviving cardiac arrest?
What exactly is sudden cardiac arrest?
When someone experiences sudden cardiac arrest, their heart suddenly stops beating,” says Dr. Steven Burstein, PIH Health cardiologist. “This is due to an irregular heart rhythm—an electrical problem in the heart. The person immediately stops breathing and becomes unconscious. If they don’t receive immediate medical help, which includes shocking the heart to restore its rhythm and performing CPR, the person may die.”
What can you do to lower the chance that it happens to someone you know?
Most times, the cause of sudden cardiac arrest in young athletes is due to a congenital heart condition that was never detected. While traditional health screenings of student-athletes don’t pick up most of these heart issues, it is still important to begin with a yearly health screening so that any issues young athletes may be experiencing can be further discussed and tested.
“To better protect someone involved in vigorous physical activities, such as young athletes, you may want to talk to your doctor about having more comprehensive testing done of the heart, such as an electrocardiogram (ECG),” says Dr. Burstein. “This is recommended if there is a family history of heart conditions or if the person experiences heart palpitations, chest pain or is easily out of breath from exercise.”
Is there any way to guarantee that sudden cardiac arrest doesn’t happen?
Although ECGs increase the chance of finding a congenital heart condition that may cause sudden cardiac arrest, they can’t offer full protection for athletes as there are other causes of sudden cardiac arrest that are difficult to detect or are out of anyone’s control.
That being said—While there is unfortunately no guarantee to prevent sudden cardiac arrest, there are things you can do to be prepared should it happen. Since the stakes are so high if someone experiences sudden cardiac arrest, it’s important for parents and athletes alike to:
- Ensure that staff members of sports teams know how to do CPR
- Ensure that you yourself know how to perform CPR
- Ensure that staff members of sports teams have access to automatic external defibrillators (AEDs)
These important details give a person experiencing sudden cardiac arrest the best chance of surviving this life-threatening condition while waiting for an ambulance and first responders to arrive.
Don’t forget to schedule your athlete’s annual check-up
PIH Health cardiologists can talk to you about your risk factors for heart disease and cardiac arrest and can help you understand what steps you can take for better heart health.
But this all starts with annual check-ups with your young athletes’ primary care physician so that any issues they may be experiencing can be further discussed and tested. Then ask your primary care doctor for a referral to the heart specialists at PIH Health. Visit PIHHealth.org/Doctors to find a doctor now.
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