Commotio cordis occurs after a blunt, non-penetrating blow to the precordial area of the chest wall that results in the induction of an often fatal ventricular fibrillation in a heart that does not have a preexisting structural or electrophysiological cardiovascular disease (Yabek, 2011). The blow is often perceived to be irrelevant, yet can cause a debilitating injury or even death. Death may be sudden or after a brief period of lucidity with purposeful movement prior to collapse (Yabek, 2011). The emphasis of commotio cordis in this paper will be on it occurring in sports, as it is most commonly happens there. It has also been known to occur when impact of the chest occurs, such as a steering wheel during a motor vehicle accident, playful boxing, bodily contacts, parental discipline, and even a closed fist punch to the chest (Maron, Goham, Kyle, Estes III, & Link, 2002).
The prevalence of commotion cordis aids in the importance of this paper. Recently, the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation stated commotio cordis is one of the leading causes of sudden death in young athletes, only to be exceeded by hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and congential coronary artery abnormalities (Yabek, 2011). Over 250 instances have been reported to the US Commotio Cordis Registry since, there is most likely and underestimation of its true incidence since commotio cordis still continues to go unrecognized in many instances and therefore is underreported (Yabek, 2011).
In recognizing the risks of commotio cordis, it is vital to discuss who commotio cordis predominantly occurs in. Commotio cordis is most often seen in young male athletes, in whom a sudden, blunt, nonpenetrating and innocent-appearing trauma to the anterior chest wall which r...
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... ball in youth baseball, ages 5-12. Retrieved from http://web.usabaseball.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090813&content_id=6410310&vkey=news_usab&gid=
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Yabek, S. (2011, March 18). Commotio cordis. Retrieved from http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/902504-overview
A concussion is defined as temporary unconsciousness caused by a blow to the head or a violent shock from a heavy blow. The force transmitted to the head causes the brain to hit the skull, which causes the brain to swell. The symptoms of a concussion can appear immediately after contact or they may subtle and may not appear right away. The symptoms of a concussion can vary in length. There are many different symptoms to a concussion: "Common symptoms after a concussive traumatic brain injury are headache, loss of memory (amnesia) and confusion" (Mayo). Other symptoms that may be involved with a concussion include loss of consciousness, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, slurred speech, and fatigue. There are also symptoms that may not occur immediately, but may be delayed hours or days after. These symptoms include difficulty concentrating, sensitivity to light, and sleep disturbances. An athlete should ...
Gladwell provides research conducted by Anne McKee a neuropathologist who is involved in the detection of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (C.T.E) on football players which was caused by head trauma. Using the research of McKee who is deeply involved with C.T.E allows the reader to better understand C.T.E. First we are presented on how by autopsying a brain of a person who had received a diagnosis of dementia. McKee discovered that this patient was a boxer in his early days and due to many hits in the head he developed C.T.E. Unfortunately, this person was diagnosed with dementia but ultimately he had C.T. E “which is a progressive neurological disorder found in people who have suffered some kind of brain trauma”. (Offensive Play). We are also presented with a research done by Kevin Guskiewicz director of the University of North Carolina’s Sports Concussion Research Program. Guskiewicz carefully monitors North Carolina’s football team with sensors on the player’s football helmets. These sensors allow Guskiewicz to measure the force of the impacts the players receive while playing football. Guskiewicz compared the hits to the head a payer receives to a car accident: “if you drove your car into a wall at twenty-five miles per hour and you weren’t wearing your seat belt, the force of your head hitting the
...time the athlete is just fine, but there is the small chance that the brain injury is worse than it appears. If I were in this situation, to me the health of the athlete is more important than winning a game. If the blow was an extremely hard hit than I would be worried for further injury of the brain, such as swelling and bleeding.
Moser, R. S., Schatz, P., & Jordan, B. D. (2005). Prolonged effects of concussion in high school athletes. Neurosurgery, 57(2), 300-306.
The American Heart Association gives sufficient evidence for the need of change by acknowledging that sudden cardiac arrest is a leading cause of death (2012). These fatalities affect both adult and child victims. Statistics also show that 70% of people feel helpless during a cardia...
While doing research on how concussions affected the brain, they came upon SIS. SIS raised concern in the sports community, they found that they need to be more cautious with the care and d management of athletes the suffered head injuries. '" occurs when an athlete who has sustained an initial head injury, most often a concussions, then sustains a second head injury before symptoms associated with the first have fully healed (Cantu and Voy 1995).'" Michael Bay was a athlete that got a concussions, shortly after he was hit again while being in practice. Mr. Bay die in a deep coma, after the medical examiner perform the autopsy it was found that Michael cause of death was a massive cerebral edema ( a cerebral edema is "the accumulation of fluid in and resultant swelling of the brain that may be caused by trauma, a tumor, lack of oxygen at high altitudes, or exposure to toxic substances." MedlinePlus). The next one is the intracranial injury, there are four major types of intracranial injuries: epidural hematoma, subdural hematoma, intracranial hematoma, and cerebral contusion. The epidural hematoma is a bleeding that develops between the dura and the cranial bones. Subdural hematoma is also a bleed, but it develops below the dura mater. The intracranial hematoma is a bleed that happens within the brain tissue. And the last one the cerebral contusion is
Thesis: Concussions affect children and adults of all ages causing physical, emotional and metal trauma to a person and their brain.
Since football’s inception, it has been considered a manly sport. Young boys have been encouraged by their parents to participate in the game. For many boys, it is considered a rite of passage. However, football is a dangerous sport. A study conducted by the Center for Injury Research and Policy found, “an estimated 5.25 million football-related injuries among children and adolescents between 6 and 17 years of age were treated in U.S. emergency departments between 1990 and 2007. The annual number of football-related injuries increased 27 percent during the 18-year study period, jumping from 274,094 in 1990 to 346,772 in 2007” (Nation 201). These reported injuries include sprains and strains, broken bones, cracked ribs, torn ligaments, and concussions. A concussion usually happens when a player takes a hard hit to the head or is knocked unconscious on the playing field, and if not diagnosed and treated quickly, a concussion can result in death.
Concussions can spring from practically anywhere; at home during cleaning, playing catch in the yard, or even slipping and falling. One
Adirim, Terry A. “Concussions in Sports and Recreation.” Clinical Pediatric Emergency Medicine 8.1 (2007): 2-6. Print.
Sahler, C. S., & Greenwald, B. D. (2012). Traumatic Brain Injury in Sports: A Review.
Concussions are an injury that falls under the Traumatic Brain Injury category. A concussion occurs when a force causes the brain to rock back and forth inside the skull, and hit the interior walls of the skull. When this happens it can result in bruising on two parts of the brain, the Coup and the Countercoup. This may result in Loss of consciousness, confusion, headaches, nausea or vomiting, blurred vision, and loss of short-term memory. I know from experience the nausea and blurred vision. I noticed that during what I thought was a concussion though after the initial hits my ears would ring and give me very painful headaches.
An acute myocardial infraction is commonly known as a heart attack. A heart attack is a serious medical emergency that can cause death if not taken serious! “Every year, there are more than 3 million cases in America.” Says Mayo Clinic. Although, a heart attack can happen at any age the majority of the victims are 40 and up. An attack occurs when the blood supply to a part of the heart is damaged or interrupted. Heart attacks are usually caused by obesity, stress, high blood pressure, smoking and many other diseases or poor decision.
The only result from the testing consistent with a brain injury was the abnormal pupil response of the right eye (constriction) (Traumatic brain injury, 2015). The physical effects that could have pointed to a brain injury were the laceration to the right side of the gentleman’s head and the amount of blood loss. The complaints from the patient that may have insisted a brain injury included a severe headache, dizziness, and nausea (Traumatic brain injury, 2015).
Yanagawa, Y., & Miyawaki, H. (2012). Importance of checking prehospital neurological findings to reveal incidence of spinal cord concussion. Spinal Cord, 50, 278-280. doi:10.1038/sc.2011.151