Podcast 843: Commotio Cordis

<p><strong>Contributor: </strong>Jared Scott, MD</p> <p><strong>Educational Pearls:</strong></p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Commotio cordis is sudden ventricular fibrillation precipitated by direct impact to the chest </span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">A national registry, US Commotio Cordis Registry, reports an average of 10-20 cases annually </span></li> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">95% of reported cases occur in males, indicating possible genetic component </span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Average age of patient in registry is 15 </span></li> </ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Most cases occur during sporting events (baseball in particular), in addition to physical altercations and industrial accidents </span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Treatment is high quality CPR and early defibrillation </span></li> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="2"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Survival rate is improving but remains around 35% </span></li> </ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">In recent events, American football player Damar Hamlin survived a Commotio cordis event after being tackled on field and receiving CPR </span></li> </ul> <p><strong>References</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Link MS. Commotio cordis: ventricular fibrillation triggered by chest impact-induced abnormalities in repolarization.</span> <em><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Circ Arrhythm Electrophysiol</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">. 2012;5(2):425-432. doi:10.1161/CIRCEP.111.962712</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Maron BJ, Poliac LC, Kaplan JA, Mueller FO. Blunt impact to the chest leading to sudden death from cardiac arrest du