It’s still unclear what led to Damar Hamlin’s cardiac arrest – a condition that results from electrical disturbances that cause the heart to suddenly stop beating properly. Death can occur quickly if help is not provided immediately.
It is not the same as a heart attack or heart failure.
DailyExpertNews Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta explained that when the heart is not beating properly, fluid can sometimes get into the lungs, making it difficult for medical personnel to provide oxygen to the patient. So they will turn the person on their stomach into a prone position to make breathing easier.
Gupta also said it sounds like Hamlin still has a significant amount of heart dysfunction and his heart can’t pump enough blood.
One of the treatment options is to reduce the body’s demand for oxygenated blood.
“So you want to improve the amount of circulation, but in the meantime you can also reduce demand by sedating someone, by keeping them on a ventilator,” he said.
‘Sometimes they even use refrigerants, which is called hypothermia, to almost put the body into a kind of hibernation state, so that it needs less oxygen-rich blood. That’s part of the reason why he would also be on a ventilator.”
Hamlin’s condition: Buffalo Bills Safety, 24, is on a ventilator to relieve pressure on his damaged lungs, said his uncle Dorrian Glenn.
Doctors told Glenn that his cousin has also been “turned onto his stomach” at the hospital to help with the blood to his lungs, he said, adding: “It looks like he’s trending upwards in a positive way.”
On-field injuries are not uncommon in the NFL, which often resumes play even after serious cases. But several current and former players have said Hamlin’s cardiac arrest felt especially troubling as medical staff battled to save his life as fans and players watched.
read more here.