Damar Hamlin's Collapse Described as Cardiac Arrest but Questions Linger

At 9 minutes into the game between the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals on January 2, Damar Hamlin collapsed. Damar Hamlin is a safety for the Bills and had just taken a hard hit to the chest while tackling. He received medical attention on the field almost immediately that included CPR, defibrillation and intubation. At the hospital he was placed in the intensive care unit and received “targeted temperature management”. On January 4, Mr. Hamlin was able to communicate through writing with the nursing staff to ask “Who won the game?”. The breathing tube was removed later that day. On January 9, one week after his collapse, he was discharged from the University of Cincinnati Medical Center and transferred to the Buffalo General Medical Center. He was discharged to home on January 11.

Dr. Knight, a physician caring for Mr. Hamlin, stated: “As everybody knows, Mr. Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest on the field and it was promptly recognized by the Buffalo Bills medical staff and that allowed for a very immediate resuscitation on the field.”

However, the physician also reported: “[Mr. Hamlin] originally had a pulse on the field and then lost it …”. and later: “Yes, he initially had a pulse …”

Furthermore, the physician stated: "In general it was several minutes on the field before CPR was started ... just a couple of minutes before CPR was started"

The physicians who cared for Mr. Hamlin clearly attribute the collapse of Mr. Hamlin to cardiac arrest. However, they have not provided clarity in their reasoning.  

There is a question of whether Mr. Hamlin’s collapse might be linked to COVID vaccination. Further disclosures from Mr. Hamlin may help rule this in or out.