Big scare on Saturday, after the Danish Christian Eriksen suddenly collapsed on the lawn, during the Denmark-Finland football match.
If the cardiac massage immediately implemented saved Christian Eriksen, this type of cardio-respiratory arrest, which regularly affects athletes after an effort, can be fatal.
Every year, in France, 1,000 sportsmen die of sudden death while playing sports. This phenomenon is called the “sudden death of the athlete”. In association with the Heart and Research FoundationProfessor François Carré, cardiologist, tells us more.
The sudden death of the athlete mainly affects men
Arnaud Fay was 36 when he finished a half-marathon (in 1h45) and collapsed when crossing the finish line. Her heart stopped without warning. Fortunately for him, the sporting event’s aid station manages to react immediately and resuscitate him. He just suffered “sudden death resurrected”, we explain to him afterwards. After two weeks in intensive care, he was implanted with a cardiac defibrillator and returned home. Not everyone is so lucky, says Professor Carré.
Sudden death in athletes mainly concerns men (7 times more than women): mainly between 45 and 50 years old, on leisure sports. But it can happen earlier, even before age 35. It is characterized by a sudden collapse during a sports activity, in 85% of cases caused by a myocardial infarction. “It is not sport that creates pathology, sport reveals an underlying disease, ignored until then”, he explains. He also specifies that the sudden death of the sportsman does not concern traumatic deaths, of the type falling from a horse or accident on a football field.
Sometimes the sportsman’s sudden death goes unanswered
It is complicated to understand, because it sometimes remains unanswered. Arnaud Fay never knew what happened, for example. A few days before, he passes an ECG for the race, all the lights are green. For those who do not escape, Professor Carré explains that “in 40% of cases, a classic autopsy does not allow us to understand the cause of the accident”. We have to look further: genetic diseases that can only be identified by analyzing the walls of the heart, in particular.
It is to overcome these difficulties that the “Resolve” study was launched. For two years, doctors collected victims of cardio-respiratory arrests during sport (dead and alive). More in-depth examinations have been carried out to try to find an explanation, in particular genetic, which would allow, among other things, to alert brothers and sisters if they too are carriers, and to avoid new accidents.
Prevent sudden death in athletes
The objective for doctors is to better prevent the sudden death of the athlete, even if it remains 100% impossible, specifies the cardiologist. However, several techniques exist. First of all, carry out a visit of absence of contraindication to sport (which is prescribed to competitors), with an electrocardiogram in addition (which increases the chances of finding something, from 15% to 80%).
Professor Carré specifies that it is not because we find an anomaly that we can predict that there will be sudden death, sometimes nothing is declared. And sometimes, the ECG does not detect anything, as in the case of Arnaud Fay.
Another way to prevent: educate more practitioners. “Athletes are often convinced that sport immunizes them from a heart problem. Sport is good for your health, let’s not forget, but it doesn’t protect you from anything. It can even, in this case, reveal underlying problems…” He points out that in 40% of cases, the subject has already felt a symptom, without being alerted. “Any abnormal symptom on exertion should raise the alarm. : you are used to climbing a hill and this time, you have your legs cut off, a bar in your chest… You must be wondering. If the problem persists the next day, go consult.
Finally, to limit deaths following sudden death of athletes, it is essential to training in first aid. “We are very bad in France, does he introduce. The proof, in 85% of cases, when an athlete dies, there is a witness who did not know how to react. In only 40% of cases, the witness performs rescue actions, and in 1% of cases a defibrillator is used. Often, the testimonies refer to a fear of making the situation worse, intervening. The cardiologist recalls: “You can’t do anything wrong to someone who is collapsing, you can only save their life.”
What follow-up for survivors of sudden death?
In terms of follow-up, for survivors, several options are possible. If there is a disease that has been detected, drug treatment is given. Without pathology detected, beta-blockers and the defibrillator can prevent a recurrence.
The doctor specifies that surviving the sudden death of the sportsman does not mean that it will be necessary to stop the sport definitively. But it is essential to understand how to avoid it again. In addition, the practice of sport must be adapted, without competition.
Source : Heart & Research Foundation press conference, with Professor François Carré (April 22, 2021).
Read also:
- Climb four flights of stairs without stopping, a good test for heart health
- A cyclist who suffered a cardiac arrest saved thanks to an app
