Damar Hamlin has revealed what caused his cardiac arrest.
Hamlin, the Buffalo Bills safety who collapsed on the field in January after a seemingly routine tackle, explained to reporters what doctors told him what happened to him on the football field.
“The diagnosis of what happened to me was commotio cordis,” Hamlin said during a press conference on Tuesday.
The 25-year-old described the condition as “a direct blow at a specific point in your heartbeat that causes cardiac arrest, and five to seven seconds later, you fall out, and that’s pretty much what everybody’s seen Jan. 2 of this year.”
The American Heart Association defines commotio cordis as “a rare cardiac arrest immediately following a blow to the chest” that “induces a potentially lethal heart rhythm disturbance, or arrhythmia, called ventricular fibrillation.”
Hamlin shared that commotio cordis is “the leading cause of death in youth athletes across all sports” and that he will be “personally taking a step” to address this statistic and promote awareness.
On Tuesday, Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane told reporters that Hamlin is medically cleared to play again.” He’s fully cleared, he’s here, and… he’s in a great headspace to come back and make his return,” Beane said.
Hamlin expressed that he plans to make a return to football now that he’s been cleared by medical professionals.
I got a long journey to go, but I’m committed to it each day,” said Hamlin. “So I thank everybody for being on this journey with me.”