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Cardiologist stresses planning ahead to respond to traumatic injuries

Dr. Richard Kovacs said Damar Hamlin's terrifying injury on national TV can be a teaching moment about having an emergency action plan ready.

INDIANAPOLIS — It was a terrifying moment for NFL fans and everyone who watched Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapse during Monday night's game against Cincinnati. 

Terrifying, but also a teaching moment, said IU Health sports cardiologist Dr. Richard Kovacs.

"I think for the fans in the stands to see what should be done and for everybody to remember that because we might be in a position where we're asked to do CPR or we're asked to apply an automatic defibrillator, and it likely won't be in a stadium with 70,000 people, but maybe it will be at the airport or your gym," Kovacs said.

That's why he recommends learning how to do both.

"You can take a formal course, but just learn the basics of hands-only CPR and know to call for help and call for an AED and know what a cardiac arrest looks like, because we all saw one last night," Kovacs said.

What fans also saw, said Kovacs, was an emergency action plan that went into motion the moment Hamlin collapsed.

"We stress with leagues, schools, clubs, teams - have an emergency action plan if a cardiac arrest does occur," Kovacs said. "If you're a parent of an athlete, ask about an emergency action plan. Does your league, does your school have an emergency action plan? Do they have defibrillators? Where are they? Who's been trained to use them? Because this can happen."

At this point, doctors have not said what exactly caused Hamlin to go into cardiac arrest, but it came just seconds after he took a hit on the field.

"A lot of work has to be done to make sure we understand completely why, because the stakes are so high," Kovacs said. 

No one is feeling those stakes more right now than Hamlin's teammates and family.

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