Buffalo Bills’ Damar Hamlin collapse raises CPR, AED awareness

DELMARVA- It was a scary scene in Buffalo after Bill’s Player Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field Monday night.
Heart health advocates say it’s important to recognize the signs of cardiac arrest and snap into action.

Ryan Whittington of the Ocean City Fire Department says the response on the field was exactly what needs to happen at home,
as within the first few minutes of cardiac arrest CPR needs to be administered until an AED device can be found.

Whittington tells us situations like these are why they have partnered with local high school athletics programs to know what to do when a player is unresponsive.

“We teach coaches CPR so that our students on our local fields have folks around that are trained and ready to recognize should someone need CPR, the facts are if you are trained it gives you knowledge and confidence and skills to remain calm in a medical emergency and save lives,” he said.

The American Heart Association says last year 356 thousand people died of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, like what happened to Hamlin, who remains in critical but stable condition.

But it was not just CPR that was able to save Hamlin’s life; the team also used an AED Defibrillator device to help get his heart back to a normal rhythm.

The Beat Goes on Inc, is a local organization that works to get more of those devices installed in public places like parks and offices across Delmarva.

Founder and heart attack survivor Jamie Ensor tells us the devices are easy to use but need to be used quickly to help someone who needs them.

Ensor hopes this moment can be used to break the ice on giving the public the confidence to use the devices.

“To know that you can’t hurt someone by using an AED they look scary but they proved a shock, but it won’t deliver that shock if it is not necessary,” Ensor said.

Ensor says when someone collapses, someone should call 911, while a CPR-trained bystander performs chest compressions until an AED device or ambulance has arrived.
She says the first ten minutes are the most crucial in determining the outcome of a cardiac event which has a 90 percent mortality rate.