What is cardiac arrest? What happened to Bills player Damar Hamlin

Emily DeLetter, Cincinnati Enquirer
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Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, 24, collapsed following a seemingly routine tackle in a game against the Cincinnati Bengals during Monday Night Football. What happened next was anything but routine.

Players from both teams gathered around as an ambulance was brought onto the field and CPR was administered to Hamlin. He suffered cardiac arrest and his heartbeat was eventually restored on the field, according to a tweet from the Bills. He was transferred to UC Medical Center in Cincinnati, where he was sedated and remains in critical condition.

But what is cardiac arrest, and how did it happen to Hamlin, who appeared to be in good health going into the game?

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What is cardiac arrest?

According to the Sports Institute, a sudden cardiac arrest happens when the heart suddenly loses its normal rhythm and stops pumping blood. If immediate emergency actions are not taken, death or other serious disability can occur.

It is usually caused by abnormalities of the heart, which are often inherited but can remain undiagnosed and go undetected.

It is also possible for a hard blow to the chest to trigger a sudden cardiac arrest. Called "commotio cordis," this arrhythmic death is caused by a sudden blunt impact to the chest and is seen mostly in athletes playing sports with projectiles including baseballs, hockey pucks or lacrosse balls, according to the University of Connecticut's Korey Stringer Institute.

Around one or two in every 100,000 athletes experience sudden cardiac arrest each year, according to the Sports Institute. Males are at a greater risk than females and Black athletes are at a greater risk than white athletes. The risk is higher in football and basketball.

This is different from a cardiac contusion (contusio cordis), a situation in which blunt chest trauma causes structural cardiac damage, such as observed in motor vehicular accidents, according to the American Heart Association.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: What is cardiac arrest? What happened to Bills player Damar Hamlin