Best Practice Case Studies-Sudden Cardiac Arrest

Video Transcription

Video Summary

The AMSSM National Fellow Online Lecture series commenced with Dr. Brett Torsdall delivering a lecture on sudden cardiac arrest in athletes. Dr. Torsdall, a sports and family medicine physician at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City, provided an in-depth analysis on recognizing, treating, and preventing sudden cardiac arrest, focusing primarily on the significance of having a robust emergency action plan and efficient screening processes. He emphasized the importance of recognizing symptoms like non-contact collapse, agonal breathing, and seizure-like activity. Dr. Torsdall explained the critical chain of survival, highlighting early CPR and quick AED defibrillation as crucial steps in responding to cardiac emergencies, while noting that successful resuscitation heavily depends on the timely application of these responses.<br /><br />Dr. Torsdall also explored the incidence of sudden cardiac arrest across different sports and levels of play, drawing attention to heightened risks for male basketball players and marathon participants. The lecture covered a broad spectrum of potential underlying causes for cardiac arrest, differentiating between structural and electrical heart diseases, and highlighted strategies for screening athletes at risk. Dr. Torsdall discussed various challenges associated with screening, like false positives in ECG interpretation and the psychological impact on athletes.<br /><br />He addressed the evolving landscape of sports cardiology, touching on recent findings concerning COVID-19's impact on cardiac health in athletes and the implications for return-to-play protocols. Finally, the session concluded with a Q&A, where Dr. Torsdall provided insights on emergency planning for visiting team physicians and the cardiovascular screening of older athletes.

Meta Tag

Edition 3rd Edition

Related Case 3rd Edition, CASE 06

Topic Cardiac

Keywords

3rd Edition, CASE 06

3rd Edition

Cardiac

sudden cardiac arrest

athletes

emergency action plan

CPR

AED defibrillation

sports cardiology

screening processes

COVID-19 impact

cardiac health

Dr. Brett Torsdall