Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Damar Hamlin Now Alert And On Path To Neurological Recovery
NBC News: Damar Hamlin Is Alert And Asking Questions, Doctors Say
During a news briefing Thursday, Hamlin's doctors said his recovery includes other promising signs that his brain is functioning, such as moving his feet and squeezing the hands of his doctors and family members. (Edwards, 1/5)
The New York Times: Damar Hamlin’s Neurological Recovery Reaches A ‘Turning Point’
While experts have reasons to anticipate that Mr. Hamlin may be on a good path for neurological recovery, questions remain about the health of his other organs, including his lungs. In a news conference on Thursday, Dr. Knight and Dr. Timothy A. Pritts said that Mr. Hamlin was still critically ill, was in intensive care and was still lightly sedated and on a ventilator, and so unable to talk. But he can now communicate by shaking his head and nodding. He even wrote a question on a pad of paper, asking his nurse who had won the game. (Kolata, 1/5)
On the response of major-league sports teams —
The New York Times: ‘We’re Going to Need Everybody’: Recordings Captured Response to N.F.L. Crisis
The radio traffic moments after Buffalo Bills defensive back Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field Monday night in Cincinnati crackled with urgency. “I don’t like how he went down,” one person said on a channel that appears to have included medical personnel on the sidelines. Seconds later, as the gravity of Hamlin’s condition became clearer, another person was more emphatic. (Belson, Blinder and Stein, 1/5)
AP: NHL Evolves Its Plan, Prep For Terrifying Cardiac Events
The horror that swept across the NFL when Buffalo Bills defensive back Damar Hamlin collapsed and went into cardiac arrest during a game this week in Cincinnati was all too familiar to members of the hockey community. Five players in the NHL over the past 25 years who collapsed during a game — terrifying scenes that stopped play while people scrambled to help — were diagnosed with a heart-related issue of some kind. (Whyno, 1/5)
Also —
USA Today: What Damar Hamlin's Cardiac Arrest Can Teach Parents About Kids Sports
Every year, sudden cardiac arrest claims the lives of over 2,000 children and teens in the U.S., according to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. This accounts for about 3% to 5% of all deaths in children aged 5 to 19. “Everyone’s at some potential risk," said Dr. Gul H. Dadlani, division chief of cardiology at Nemours Children’s Health in Orlando, Florida. “The same thing could happen to a high school student or the non-athlete who’s just at home.” (Rodriguez, 1/5)
CNN: How To Protect Your Kids When They Play Sports, According To Doctors
Every time there is a head trauma, cardiac arrest, or other major injury among professional sports, parents take a deep breath. “That athlete is someone’s child. Could that be my child?” Cardiac events during sports are uncommon for anyone, said Dr. Stuart Berger, division head of cardiology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. While they can also occur in kids and teens, these injuries can happen whether or not people play sports. (Holcombe, 1/5)
NPR: Damar Hamlin, Cardiac Arrest And What It Takes To Boost The Odds Of Survival
For the more than 350,000 Americans each year who suffer cardiac arrest outside of a hospital, the prognosis is not always an optimistic one. Most studies suggest that no more than 10% of these patients survive until hospital discharge. As grim as that would seem, medical experts say the statistics mask much better individual outcomes for patients who receive rapid and appropriate care before they reach a hospital. (Neuman, 1/6)
In related news about emergency medical kits on airlines —
KHN: During In-Flight Emergencies, Sometimes Airlines’ Medical Kits Fall Short
In March, a Frontier Airlines flight was headed from Phoenix to Las Vegas when a female passenger stopped breathing. The flight attendant yelled in the cabin for help. A passenger who was trained as a wilderness first responder, Seth Coley, jumped into action and found the woman was unresponsive and had a weak pulse. Coley dug through the plane’s medical kit but couldn’t find an oropharyngeal airway, a tool that was supposed to be there and that he needed to help the woman breathe. Instead, he cleared the airway by manipulating her neck. (Ramachandran, 1/6)
