A few months ago Sports Illustrated reported the following:
“A little over three months since suffering cardiac arrest near the end of the 2022 season, Buffalo Billssafety Damar Hamlin has been ‘fully cleared’ by his medical care team and has started to participate in offseason workouts. … and Hamlin has even bigger plans.
Now, Hamlin seems well on his way to making a triumphant return this fall.”
In August Damar Hamlin did play in a Buffalo Bills exhibition game. In fact he made some tackles in that game. But here’s the quandary. Demar Hamlin has not played in a regular season game this year. He made the squad, but he has mostly been on the inactive list. To me the question is “why?” He is either fit to play or he isn’t. If his cardiac arrest was due to Commotio Cordis, I am befuddled as to why he has been inactive for the Bills initial three regular season games. Commotio Cordis is a very rare phenomenon to begin with, and is typically associated with a high velocity impact, like a baseball line drive. There was no high velocity impact of any sort to the chest of Damar Hamlin. I would suppose that Commotio Cordis could rarely recur, but the risk for a recurrence would not change from week 1 to week 16.
Again, why is he not playing yet? The only thing that makes sense to me is that the risk for a recurrent cardiac arrest is time-related in some way. In other words, the longer Hamlin waits before he plays, the less likely he is to have a recurrence, and this implies that some sort of healing is taking place, The only heart ailment that I am aware of that “heals,” would be one that is associated with some sort of infection or inflammation.
Perhaps related is this recent disheartening turn of events, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has chosen to withhold updated information concerning cases of heart inflammation following COVID-19 vaccination. This move by the CDC, a federal agency that should epitomize transparency and public trust, is a betrayal to the American people who look towards such institutions for guidance and assurance in these trying times.
Is a Damar Hamlin’s diagnosis of Commotio Cordis, the NFL’s version of the CDC’s reluctance to release updated data on myocarditis and pericarditis, conditions associated with heart inflammation post-vaccination. Hmmm!
9/28/23