VOA健康报道2022--Football Player’s Cardiac Arrest: ‘A Teachable Moment’

　　Football Player’s Cardiac Arrest: ‘A Teachable Moment’

　　Damar Hamlin, a player for the professional football team from Buffalo¹, New York, suffered a cardiac arrest during a game seen on national television Monday night.

　　Health website Hopkins Medicine says a cardiac arrest is when the heart stops beating. This stops blood flow to the brain and other organs. Cardiac arrest can cause a person to lose consciousness, become disabled, or die if they are not treated immediately.

　　The Buffalo Bills football team said in a statement, "Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest following a hit in our game versus² the Bengals. His heartbeat was restored on the field..." The team added, "He is currently sedated³ and listed in critical condition."

　　The incident happened in a big Monday night game between the Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals. After stopping a Bengals player, Hamlin stood up and quickly collapsed⁴ on the field.

　　Medical workers then performed cardio-pulmonary resuscitation⁵, or CPR, an emergency measure, to restart his heartbeat on the field.

　　Players from both teams cried and prayed while Hamlin was receiving treatment. He was then taken to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. The National Football League suspended the game.

　　What happened to Hamlin?

　　Hamlin was hurt while stopping, or tackling, Bengals player Tee Higgins in a play that did not appear unusually violent.

　　Higgins was running after catching⁶ a pass when his right shoulder hit Hamlin in the chest. Hamlin tackled Higgins bringing him down. Hamlin then quickly stood up after the play and even adjusted his helmet before collapsing⁷.

　　Heart experts say it is too soon to know what caused Hamlin's heart attack. But they say a rare condition called commotio cordis is among the possible reasons. Commotio cordis happens when a severe blow to the chest causes the heart to shake, leading to sudden cardiac arrest.

　　Dr. Rod Passman is director of the Center for Arrhythmia Research at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine. He told the Associated Press that this condition rarely happens. For example, it could happen when a sharp hit directly over the heart takes place at the wrong time during the heart's normal beating activity.

　　Commotio cordis happens "probably 20 times a year," and about 60 percent of those affected⁸ survive, said heart specialist Dr. Mark Link of UT Southwestern Medical Center in Texas.

　　Dr. Aman Chugh is a University of Michigan cardiology professor. He noted⁹ that hard tackles are extremely common in football and that commotio cordis is extremely rare.

　　Link said the main danger for survivors¹⁰ is brain damage from lack of oxygen when the heart stops pumping blood. Doctors can reduce that risk with deep sedation to give the brain a rest, he said.

　　Dr. Mariell Jessup is the chief medical officer for the American Heart Association. She said heart disease that already exists is the most common cause of sudden cardiac arrest. But Hamlin's medical history has not been made public.

　　Jessup said it is "not uncommon¹¹" for an athlete to have a heart condition that doctors did not find. This can even happen to young players.

　　The American Heart Association says more than 365,000 people in the United States have sudden cardiac arrests outside of hospitals each year. Their survival depends on quick CPR and electric shock to bring the heartbeat back to normal, as reportedly happened with Hamlin.

　　"The teachable moment is learn CPR," Jessup said.

　　Who is Hamlin?

　　Hamlin came to the Buffalo Bills in 2021 after playing college football for the University of Pittsburgh. He became a starting player this season after another player was injured.

　　In 2020, Hamlin began organizing a yearly Christmas toy donation campaign in his hometown of McKees Rocks in the state of Pennsylvania. His goal was to get $2,500 for the effort. By early Wednesday, people had donated more than $6.3 million for the toy donation campaign.

　　Rodger Saffold wrote about his teammate on Twitter. He described Hamlin as a "kind, caring, extremely hard worker." Saffold wrote that Hamlin is "loyal, honest and can always put a smile on your face. He is more than an athlete, he is a son and brother."

　　J.J. Watt¹² is a defensive¹³ player for the Arizona Cardinals¹⁴. He wrote following the incident, "The game is not important. Damar Hamlin's life is important. Please be ok."

　　Words in This Story

　　sedated –adj. given drugs to cause deep sleep to avoid activity or excitement

　　critical –adj. (medical) involving great danger of death

　　adjust –v. to move something to its correct position

　　helmet –n. a hard hat used in sports that protects the head from injury

　　athlete –n. a person who is trained in or expert at sports

　　teachable moment –idiom an incident from which a lesson can be learned

1 buffalo   

n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛

参考例句：

• Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
• The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。

2 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

3 sedated   

v.使昏昏入睡，使镇静( sedate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She's sedated,but she's probably scared out of her mind. 她很安静，但是她可能已经吓疯了。 来自电影对白
• Are you telling me the porn actually sedated you? 你是要告诉我，那毛片的确让你镇静下来吗？ 来自电影对白

4 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

5 resuscitation   

n.复活

参考例句：

• Despite attempts at resuscitation,Mr Lynch died a week later in hospital.虽经全力抢救，但林奇先生一周以后还是在医院去世了。
• We gave him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and heart massage.我们对他进行了口对口复苏救治和心脏按摩。

6 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

7 collapsing   

压扁[平]，毁坏，断裂

参考例句：

• Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
• The rocks were folded by collapsing into the center of the trough. 岩石由于坍陷进入凹槽的中心而发生褶皱。

8 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

9 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

10 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

11 uncommon   

adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的

参考例句：

• Such attitudes were not at all uncommon thirty years ago.这些看法在30年前很常见。
• Phil has uncommon intelligence.菲尔智力超群。

12 watt   

n.瓦，瓦特

参考例句：

• The invention of the engine is creditable to Watt.发动机的发明归功于瓦特。
• The unit of power is watt.功率的单位是瓦特。

13 defensive   

adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的

参考例句：

• Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题，使她警觉起来。
• The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。

14 cardinals   

红衣主教( cardinal的名词复数 )； 红衣凤头鸟（见于北美，雄鸟为鲜红色）； 基数

参考例句：

• cardinals in scarlet robes 身披红袍的枢机主教
• A conclave of cardinals was held to elect the new Pope. 红衣主教团举行了秘密会议来选举新教皇。