WHAT A LIFESAVER
New guidance for ALL sports bosses
APREMIER League football star’s heart drama once again focused the nation’s attention on the issue of sudden cardiac arrest.
Luton Town captain Tom Lockyer collapsed during his club’s match against Bournemouth last December. He was immediately tended to by paramedics and staff on the pitch and is fortunately continuing to recover.
Now new guidelines are being made available for all sports events to help save the lives of future victims of a condition in which the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating.
For many people, sudden cardiac arrest among sportspeople first came to their notice in 2012 when Bolton Wanderers star Fabrice Muamba fell to the ground during an FA Cup tie against Tottenham Hotspur.
The then 23-year-old’s life was saved despite his heart stopping beating for 78 minutes. Manchester United and Denmark star Christian Eriksen suffered a similar emergency playing for his country during Euro 2020.
Elite sportspeople are not the only ones affected by sudden cardiac arrest – it is the leading cause of death among young athletes.
Brentford FC is among the Premier League clubs who have welcomed the guidelines from the Resuscitation Council UK (RCUK), which aim to improve the response to a sudden cardiac arrest on the field of play and increase the chances of a full recovery.
The guidelines are designed for medical teams who need to respond to an athlete across all professional and amateur sports, including football, swimming and tennis.
Sudden cardiac arrest is a rare but devastating event, with approximately one in 217,000 people per year suffering a sportsrelated sudden death.
Neil Greig, head of Brentford’s medical department, said: “We welcome RCUK’s best-practice guidelines which provide important information. The more knowledge we can spread, the better equipped we can all be about saving lives.”