Dr. Thompson's Blog

Cardiac Arrest in Teen and College Athletes

I was surprised to read in the 1/26/16 New York Times that teen and college athletes are more at risk for cardiac arrest in basketball and soccer than in football. I have always thought football was the most dangerous sport. The article was about the discussion now taking place  as to whether college athletes should be screened with an EKG or cardiac tracing.(Sitting watching my own son play varsity football when he was in the tenth grade was always a hard time for me and I was very glad when he decided to switch to acting the next year, despite the coach's protests.)

Because many coaches are all about winning, I think parents need to talk to their son's doctor about any cardiac problems in their families before he starts playing.  Is there a family history  of cardiac problems at an early age, any sudden unexplained deaths, or any anesthetic problems?  Anesthetic problems can be because of a condition called Malignant Hyperthermia which can occur in connection with congenital muscle disorders or myopathies where the heart can be involved. It would also be a good idea to talk with older family members to see what medical problems have occurred in previous generations. A  yearly complete physical examination  where the youth is undressed to his shorts would be very important.

With the focus  on cardiac deaths in sports, some colleges are acquiring defibrillators and insisting on their coaches having CPR training. Some also are insisting their athletes have an EKG and ultrasound screening. Certainly as a parent I would want to talk with  my son's doctor before he starts playing on a varsity team. One sudden death is one too many. The article quotes a Dr. Kimberly Harmon, who stated in an article in the journal Circulation that the "risk over a typical four-year career of a Division I male basketball player was 1 in 1,300 higher than the risk of dying in an automobile accident." Because college sports are such a lucrative enterprise, I think the administrators should do everything possible to protect their athletes and if not parents need to speak up.

 

High School Football Deaths

I am certainly glad I don't have a son or grandson pkaying football these days. The year my son played Varsity football was not an easy year, particularly since I was probably the only physician attending the games. Occasionally, his father, an orthopedic surgeon, was there which made me breathe a little easier. Now when I read about all the deaths occurring on high school football fields or soon after due to injuries, I am very sad for the parents and extended families. I wonder if it isn't time to require EKGs and other heart or cardiac studies for every teenager or college student who is going to play football. I know some of the private schools are doing this, but why not public schools?

The loss of a child is something that can scar parents and families for the rest of their lives. I know this well having lost a daughter to breast cancer. The pain is always there and as one parent said, who lost a son to muscular dystrophy, "You never accept the death, you just adjust to it." But isn't there anything that parents of football players can do? I think there is. I would demand that the proper helmets are being used and that the youth have good, and I mean extensive examinations, before being allowed to play. A cursory listening to the heart is not satisfactory. I hope some of the parents who have lost their sons to football injuries will join together and demand better care of other sons. Parents do have POWER. I would use it to save future boys and young men from injuries that could be prevented.

This last week, three high school football players died of injuries. That is tragic and we must prevent more deaths from this dangerous game. Then, there are the long-term brain injuries that professional football players are experiencing. Is this game really that important?

Violence and Football

Because I have not come from a football watching family, it is  hard for me to understand the American obsession with football. Mty son did play a year of high school football and according to the coach was their star player. When he decided to swith to the theater, the coach was  livid and called all summer long.

Now with all the news coverage about football players and domestic violence, child abuse, dog abuse and head injuries, I wonder if we don't need to re-think the place of football in our culture. At  least there should be some basic rules about what is acceptable and what is not. When 32 billionaires  own the National Football League and Roger Godell makes 44 million dollars a year, I believe that little will be change. It is all about money, not children, women, animals and  peoples' lives.

I will never forget meeting a young man in a wheelchair who was a quadriplegic. He sustained the injuries in college football that caused him to be a quadriplegic. Yet I know friends who have children and grandchildren in college football and seem to delight in this. How relieved I was when my son and grandson took different paths. One is now a doctor and the other a musician.

I think that Roger Goodell should take his millions and find another line of work, but I wonder if that will change the culture of the NFL. Maybe if enough players, parents, womens' groups, and families complain the owners of the NFL will make some changes.

When Coaches Push Too Hard

Not too long ago I was talking with two brothers, who are both college students. Their lives are completely controlled by two different coaches, as both spend five or more hours a day weight lifting, working out, or in practice. When I asked when they had time to study or have fun, both laughed. I then asked what they planned to do after college and neither young man was sure. One brother was having considerable back pain and the other was having pain in a knee, which concerned me. I didn't understand why the parents seemed so complacent about what was happening to their sons. Did they have any idea  what the future might hold for them?  Yes, one or both of the young men could get to play professional sports, but that might not happen, so then what would they do if they were constantly in pain from all their injuries?

Then there is the New Orleans football coach, who hopefully will never be able to coach another team. He  paid his players to injure members of the other teams. What has happened in the country that we take sports so seriously and put young peoples' lives and health at risk?  Not too long ago I met a young man who was a quadriplegic, as the result of a college football injury. How glad I am that my son, who did play varsity football for a year, decided to change to acting his junior year in high school, even though the coach tried to shame him into continuing with his team. I think parents need to be vigilant and watch their childrens' coaches very carefully.