ROCK ISLAND, Ill. — During the Monday Night Football matchup between the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals, Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field after making a tackle.
CPR was performed for 9 minutes on Hamlin. Medical personnel were able to get his heart back into rhythm and rush him to a local medical center, where he remains in critical condition.
"It was frightening," said Augustana College's head athletic trainer Denise Yoder. "As athletic trainers, it is what we are trained to do, we are trained in essentially evaluating an emergency situation, and determining what needs to be done."
Yoder says she watched the incident occur and described it as "an athletic trainer's worst nightmare."
Dr. Tom Bollaert from UnityPoint Health said that an event like this shows the importance of CPR and hopes people will become inspired to become CPR-certified.
"I think it's a skill, more people need and everyone should have at least some exposure to it" said Dr. Bollaert. "It's a catastrophic event that should inspire folks to look at their level of preparedness and say, What would I do if this happened to me?"
According to a Harvard University study, 65% of people say they have received some sort of CPR training at some point in their life. However, only 18% of them keep up with their training. 4 out of 5 cardiac arrests happen at home.
"They happen at home with family and friends, they happen when you're at the mall, and airports. It's important to be prepared for a moment like this" Dr. Bollaert said."
UnityPoint Health will host a CPR class next week on Tuesday, Jan. 10th at its Muscatine campus.
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