The rapid intervention of the medical services was essential this Saturday so that the cardiac arrest suffered by Christian Eriksen was not fatal. This aspect is emphasized by Dr. Pedro Ripoll, one of the founders of Ripoll and De Prado Sport Clinic, a FIFA medical center of Excellence. You have three minutes to react. The first thing is to place the person in a safe position, on their side. The footballer must have had serious difficulties because of his appearance. It has proceeded in an absolutely correct way. And without falling into exaggeration, it can be said that they have saved his life. Because of the speed, the appropriateness and the schematic nature of the intervention, ”the doctor stated in a conversation with this newspaper, while observing the images and counting the time elapsed between the crash and the first aid received by the midfielder.
«One, two, three … It’s just a few seconds. The footballer is unconscious, it takes a few seconds … He is placed in the safety position. It’s the key. If you vomit, don’t choke. And the resuscitation maneuver begins, which means that it came to a standstill. It is a very appropriate assistance, “says one of the creators of the APP ‘CPR11’, which in eleven steps explains how to proceed in a case of this type, essential to save a life, especially for athletes. «The first thing to do is have the application trained. And we donated it to FIFA years ago and we were all over the world explaining this sudden death campaign.
Possible causes
But why has it happened? Dr. Ripoll opens a series of options. And it divides them by age group. «In those under 35 years of age it is usually due to congenital heart disease (alterations in the heart that are generated before birth), due to pre-established heart diseases. And 2 of every 100,000 minors of this age die of sudden death. About 350 a year. Eriksen is in that strip, he was born in 1992. On the other side, from the age of 35, “due to a heart attack”. «And there is a third group: sports recklessness. Sports activity prevents sudden death, sports regularly, in an orderly manner and according to the level of each one. Without overexertion.
In Eriksen’s case, Ripoll recalls, it occurred in an elite athlete, thoroughly examined by doctors. «It happens in a selection like Denmark, professional, who passes all kinds of controls, medical check-ups. 100%, it is true, it is impossible to prevent. For this reason, Ripoll and De Prado ask that a basic electrocardiogram be mandatory by law before signing a sports card, something that does not happen in Spain, “he laments. Just remember that knowledge of resuscitation maneuvers is essential. And there he praises again the work of the emergency services in Denmark. «And also the reaction of his colleagues, who do not crowd. And from there, the resuscitation begins, which says that the footballer was standing still. It is a situation of extreme emergency ”, emphasizes one of the best traumatologists in Spain according to the magazine ‘Forbes’. And the future? “Now is the time for medical studies, but being awake is a splendid situation and the critical situation has passed.”
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