Course

Sudden Cardiac Arrest

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13 Lessons

Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) is the leading cause of sudden death in footballers on the field-of-play (FoP). It is typically the result of an undiagnosed structural or electrical cardiovascular disease. The infrequent yet regular occurrence of SCA during football can often be prevented through cardiovascular screening, and if necessary, effectively treated by immediate cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and automated external defibrillator (AED) use.

The majority of SCA in footballers occurs during training or competition because exercise is a trigger for lethal arrhythmias in players with an underlying cardiac pathology. While physical activity is undoubtedly beneficial for cardiovascular health, the risk of sudden death increased during bouts of exercise.

Watch the following video to listen to FIFA Medical Director Prof Jiri Dvorak produce an overview of the issues relating to SCA in football.

Presented by

Efraim B. Kramer

Learning outcomes

By the end of this module you should

  • be able to develop an action plan for the management of SCA;
  • be able to train team officials, players and medical staff to respond effectively to a case of SCA;
  • be able to appropriately identify SCA on the field of play and manage it appropriately;
  • understand how to deliver CPR on the field of play and use an AED appropriately in this setting;
  • be able to manage the transportation of an athlete with SCA;
  • have an understanding of the common causes of SCA in an athlete.

Tasks

  • Watch the provided videos relating to the background of SCA in football and the management of SCA in a sports context.
  • Complete the ‘required reading’ and review media content
  • Read the FIFA Management of SCA booklet (link).
  • Complete a basic life support CPR certification from any organisation registered with the national relevant Resuscitation Council or approved equivalent.
  • Complete the case-based assessment task.

Required Reading

F-MARC Football Emergency Medicine Manual

Chapters 3.1 and 3.1.2

Pages 48-58

References

  1. Ferreira M, Santos-Silva PR, de Abreu LC, et al. Sudden cardiac death athletes: A systematic review. Sports Med Arthrosc Rehabil Ther Technol. 2010;2:19-2555-2-19.
  2. Eckart RE, Scoville SL, Campbell CL, et al. Sudden death in young adults: A 25-year review of autopsies in military recruits. Ann Intern Med. 2004;141(11):829-834.
  3. Corrado D, Basso C, Schiavon M, Thiene G. Screening for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in young athletes. N Engl J Med. 1998;339(6):364-369.
  4. Schmied C, Drezner J, Kramer E, Dvorak J. Cardiac events in football and strategies for first-responder treatment on the field. Br J Sports Med. 2013;47(18):1175-1178.
  5. Harmon KG, Drezner JA, Wilson MG, Sharma S. Incidence of sudden cardiac death in athletes: A state-of-the-art review. Br J Sports Med. 2014;48(15):1185-1192.
  6. Scharhag J, Bohm P, Dvorak J, Meyer T. F-MARC: The FIFA sudden death registry (FIFA-SDR). Br J Sports Med. 2015;49(9):563-565.
  7. Drezner JA, Ackerman MJ, Anderson J, et al. Electrocardiographic interpretation in athletes: The ‘seattle criteria’. Br J Sports Med. 2013;47(3):122-124.
  8. Angelini P. Coronary artery anomalies: An entity in search of an identity. Circulation. 2007;115(10):1296-1305.
  9. Dvorak J, Kramer EB, Schmied CM, et al. The FIFA medical emergency bag and FIFA 11 steps to prevent sudden cardiac death: Setting a global standard and promoting consistent football field emergency care. Br J Sports Med. 2013;47(18):1199-1202.
  10. Dvorak J, Grimm K, Schmied C, Junge A. Development and implementation of a standardized precompetition medical assessment of international elite football players–2006 FIFA world cup germany. Clin J Sport Med. 2009;19(4):316-321.
  11. Maron BJ, Shirani J, Poliac LC, Mathenge R, Roberts WC, Mueller FO. Sudden death in young competitive athletes. clinical, demographic, and pathological profiles. JAMA. 1996;276(3):199-204.
  12. Drezner JA, Rao AL, Heistand J, Bloomingdale MK, Harmon KG. Effectiveness of emergency response planning for sudden cardiac arrest in united states high schools with automated external defibrillators. Circulation. 2009;120(6):518-525.