Medical professionals are stressing the importance of CPR training after the Hamlin collapse

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The tragic accident of Buffalo Bills safety Damar HamlinThe cardiac arrest has shed light on the importance of CPR training and having athletic trainers and medics ready to support athletes.

Medical professionals say that in seconds, learning CPR can save someone’s life.

“The faster you do those compressions, the more impact you’re going to have,” says Grandview Heights Fire Chief Greg Eisenacher.

Eisenacher says even if you have no training, you should still jump in and do what’s called “Manual CPR.”

“People are afraid to stop, they don’t want to stop, they might think I can’t do anything because I’m not CPR certified,” Eisenacher says. – You don’t need to do lips, you don’t need to have special training. You get up, put your hands on your chest, give everything you have.”

Chief Eisenache says to have someone call 911 immediately, put the person on their back, open their airway and keep their hands on the lock. Use your body weight to squeeze quickly and consistently.

He says the standard in Central Ohio is to have EMS crews at every high school game to protect the players.

Amy Harrison, an athletic trainer and CPR instructor with OhioHealth, says between 100 and 157 cardiac arrests occur in college sports each year.

“It’s the number one killer of athletes,” says Harrison. “We work at the high school day in and day out, covering all the practices, all the games, doing basically all the medical insurance for all the sports teams.”

OhioHealth has 180 athletic trainers in 23 counties and nearly 90 schools. Cardiac arrest is not uncommon, she says, so they have emergency plans, with automatic defibrillators and automatic external defibrillators, and all the coaches are trained in CPR.

“So we follow our emergency plan, we get out there and the main thing is to be there right away, so it’s important to have an athletic trainer or a CPR-trained person around,” Harrison says.

Meanwhile, the football community is waiting and praying for Hamlin’s recovery.

“People are very concerned and it was a traumatic incident,” said Thomas Worthington, head football coach Mike Peichetti.

He says he’s thankful he has trained personnel for incidents like this.

“All of our high school coaches are CPR certified. We are happy to have three coaches on the field on Friday night. We have our teams there, we have a team doctor who is also with us,” says Peichetti.

He also says there have been major improvements in equipment over the past 15 years, including shoulder pads and helmets.

“We live in an age where anything can happen, you know, you could be walking down the street and tomorrow you could be hit by a car, you just don’t know. It’s a pity, but I think it’s important in all schools to have the necessary people there,” says Peixetti.

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