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Commotio cordis: sudden death due to chest wall impact in sports

1999; BMJ; Volume: 81; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1136/hrt.81.2.109

1468-201X

Mark S. Link,

Cardiac Arrest and Resuscitation

Commotio cordis: sudden death due to chest wall impact in sports Sudden death resulting from relatively minor chest wall blows (commotio cordis) has been described in the medical literature since the late 1970s. 1 Since this phenomenon was first described, 70 cases have been collected (Barry J Maron, personal communication, 1998).This number is, in all likelihood, an underestimate of the true incidence of this phenomenon as many cases go unreported or are reported as accidental deaths or idiopathic sudden death.Indeed, a case of ventricular fibrillation during a soccer match, although initially reported as idiopathic, was on careful review of the events, discovered to occur after an elbow blow to the anterior left chest 2 (Gianfranco Buja, personal communication, 1998).2][3][4][5][6] There are no known cases in cricket, but given that the ball is quite similar in size, weight, and hardness to a baseball, cricket players may also be at risk for commotio cordis.The lack of deaths resulting from chest wall impact in cricket matches is likely because of the lower numbers of individuals playing the game (compared to baseball) and to the frequency of batsmen wearing protective chest gear.However, it is also possible that deaths resulting from chest impact in cricket may not be reported as commotio cordis as there is a relative lack of awareness of this event.