VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Tuesday, News 3 heard more reactions to a scary situation seen on national television.
Monday, Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin collapsed during a game. Multiple media outlets report Hamlin suffered from cardiac arrest after a hit, and remains in critical condition at a hospital, as of Tuesday night.
“Anytime that a player that starts the game off, and is unable to walk off the field at the end of that game, it does something to you,” retired NFL player Aaron Rouse told News 3.
Before serving on Virginia Beach city council, Rouse spent years playing in the NFL.
“Football is a year-round sport,” Rouse said. “There is no offseason. That’s because you’re constantly trying to get in shape, or trying to heal from an injury, or get stronger, [or] get faster.”
Rouse spent Tuesday processing the news surrounding Hamlin.
“Watching that last night, I sat up, and your heart immediately goes out to Damar,” Rouse said. “You just want him to get up. You just want him to get up and be OK.”
Through his years playing in Hampton Roads, at Virginia Tech, and with the pros, he has seen a number of injuries, however, nothing like what happened to Hamlin Monday night.
“At the end of a game, wins or losses, you want to be able to go home to your families who are waiting on you to go out through those doors,” Rouse said. “It was very hard to watch.”
“He’s a lucky gentleman that he had medical support around him,” Chesapeake-based Family Medicine Physician Dr. Ryan Light said.
Dr. Light told News 3 he responded to a similar event last September, helping revive a referee at his son’s soccer game.
“He just fell down and his heart just stopped,” Dr. Light recalled.
READ: Experts stress importance of CPR-trained personnel at sporting events
Dr. Light said what happened to Hamlin is rare, but not completely unusual in sports.
“We see it happen on the basketball court, we see it happen occasionally, but it’s an ultra-rare event,” he said. “CPR is one of the first things we do. We try to get the defibrillator out there to try to start the heart again.”
Sharel Middleton's godson plays football in Hampton Roads.
“All I could truthfully do is still support him,” Middleton said. “I always tell him to be safe when I do see him.”
She hopes more protection comes for contact and collision sports after what happened to Hamlin.
“Maybe, it’ll give the sports a little bit more of an eye-opener to protect players, if that’s what they’re going to do as a profession,” Middleton said.
Doctors with Sentara Sports Medicine list the following risk factors for cardiac arrest:
- Family history of heart disease, attack, or cardiac death
- Cardiac conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, smoking or high cholesterol
- Underlying or unknown cardiac condition
Meanwhile, doctors say some warning signs of that may lead to cardiac arrest include the following:
- Unexplained fainting or near fainting
- Chest Pain or Tightness
- Heart racing (chest palpitations)
- Abnormal shortness of breath
- Lightheadedness
According to doctors, if your child has any risk factors or shows warning signs, you should remove them from physical activity or exertion, and try and see your doctor.
READ: Here's what to know about cardiac arrest
Virginia also has a law in place when it comes to sudden cardiac arrest prevention in student-athletes.
