Best Practice Case Studies-Case 115 Asset 4 Sudden Cardiac Arrest

Video Transcription

Video Summary

The lecture, part of the AMSSM National Fellow Online Lecture series, focused on sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) in athletes. Dr. Brett Torsdall reviewed the major causes, emphasizing that athletes may appear healthy yet still have underlying structural or electrical heart disease, myocarditis, substance use issues, or in some cases commotio cordis. He discussed incidence across settings, noting higher risk in certain groups such as male NCAA basketball players, and stressed that cardiac causes remain a significant contributor to athlete deaths.<br /><br />A major theme was recognition and treatment: collapsed athletes may not look “classic,” and may show agonal breathing, seizure-like movements, or brief apparent recovery. Providers should maintain a high suspicion for SCA, initiate CPR immediately, and use an AED as quickly as possible, ideally within 3–5 minutes. He highlighted the importance of emergency action plans, venue-specific planning, communication, personnel training, equipment readiness, transport routes, and practice drills.<br /><br />The talk also covered prevention through screening. Dr. Torsdall reviewed the strengths and limitations of history/physical, ECG, echocardiography, and genetic testing, and explained how ECG interpretation criteria have improved over time, reducing false positives. He noted that screening decisions should be individualized based on athlete population, available resources, and cardiology support.<br /><br />Finally, he briefly addressed COVID-19–related cardiac issues and evolving return-to-play guidance, especially myocarditis concerns.

Meta Tag

Edition 4th Edition

Related Case 4th Edition, Case 115

Topic Cardiac

Keywords

4th Edition

4th Edition, Case 115

Cardiac

sudden cardiac arrest

athletes

CPR

AED

emergency action plan

myocarditis

cardiac screening

ECG interpretation

commotio cordis

return-to-play