This commentary is by Payton Jones of Bristol.
I’m lucky to be alive. An undiagnosed heart condition caused me to suffer a cardiac arrest during a swim meet in Essex when I was 11 years old. I swam a lap, touched the wall and turned to do another when I flipped over, my eyes rolled back and I started sinking. I had a cardiac arrest. I was not breathing and had no pulse. For all intents and purposes, I was dead.
The stars and the right people were aligned that day, and I’m 23 now, due to what one of my physicians called an “uber save.” My parents yelled for help; the lifeguard pulled me out of the pool and handed me to my father. Another teammate’s father, who just happened to be a physician, started CPR and revived me.
I regained a pulse but kept losing it. Quick response by Essex Fire Department and Rescue ensured CPR continued and I was shocked four times by an automated external defibrillator as I was transported to a nearby hospital. This, coupled with the outstanding care I received locally and later at a children’s hospital, resulted in the difference between life and death.
I’m lucky and, twelve years later, I’m alive to tell the story. But not all cardiac arrests have a happy ending. Only about 40% of people who suffer a cardiac arrest get the immediate help they need before emergency responders arrive. As a result, only 10% of people who go into cardiac arrest outside of a hospital survive.
We need to take the luck out of surviving cardiac arrest and ensure all students or visitors to Vermont schools and sporting events have the best possible chance of surviving a cardiac emergency.
Cardiac arrest is the leading cause of death for student-athletes. It is estimated that there are more than 23,000 children under the age of 18 who experience cardiac arrests outside of a hospital each year in the United States. Almost 40% of these are sports-related.
In my case, I had an undiagnosed heart condition, catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia, or CPVT. CPVT’s symptoms commonly appear in the first or second decade of life and are most prevalent when the body is subjected to intense stress. This condition is estimated to cause 15% of cardiac deaths in young people.
Other athletes may suffer commotio cordis while playing sports, when, like Buffalo Bills’ safety Damar Hamlin, they take a blow to the chest whether by a tackle, a baseball, lacrosse ball or hockey puck and their heart stops.
According to the VT Cardiac Kids group, in the last 10 years, there have been 23 cardiac arrests at Vermont schools, including at football fields.
I’m joining forces with the American Heart Association to ensure all Vermont schools and athletic events have cardiac emergency response plans, or CERPs, to ensure the best possible outcomes in these situations — lives saved, and not lost. CERPs can increase sudden cardiac arrest survival rates by 50% or more by enabling a trained lay-responder team to take action — call 911, ensure the right people are trained and start CPR and use a publicly available defibrillator compared to waiting for emergency responders to arrive.
I hope Vermont lawmakers will make the health and safety of Vermont students a priority and pass legislation to ensure all schools are prepared for a cardiac emergency and no student who suffers a cardiac arrest will have to rely on luck to live another day.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Payton Jones: Taking the “luck” out of surviving cardiac arrest.