Emergency Medical Minute

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