Sudden death in football means something different…
If the teams are still tied after the initial allocated number in a Penalty
shootout, the game goes to sudden death – where each team takes a further one
Penalty each, repeated until one
team looses, resulting in the other team
winning the game.
But medically, sudden death means something more devastating… where a seemingly healthy player suddenly collapse and die while
playing a game. Not as a result of
injury sustained, but the heart suddenly stop pumping and in a few minutes or
so the player turns purple and give up the ghost.
This is referred to as a sudden Cardiac Arrest… the heart
suddenly sustains an insult, the electricity is short circuited, the heart can’t
pump and the body dies.
“When the heart muscles can’t supply blood to the body, particularly the brain, the body immediately dies within four to six minutes after.”
Remember August 12, 1989… Perhaps, the most mournful
night in the country… when Samuel Okaraji collapsed and died while playing
against Angola in a FIFA World Cup qualifier… An autopsy revealed that the
Nigerian star had an enlarged heart and then a sudden cardiac arrest.
There’s quite a list of Nigerian footballers that
suddenly died while playing a game…
- Amir Angwe of Julius Berger collapsed and die while playing in October 29, 1995
- John Ikoroma of Al-Wahda S.C.C in February 2000
- Endurance Idahor of Al-Merrekah in March 6, 2010
- Victor Omogbehim of Iford FC in August 8, 2010
- Emmanuel Ogoli of Ocean Boys FC in December 12, 2010
- Chinonso Ihelwere of Bedford in August 5, 2012
- Shetemi Ayetigbo of Belvedere in May 31, 2015
- David Oniya of T-Team in June 13, 2015
[the Danger is Real] this is the reason I think this
article is so beneficial to everyone football player.
Prevention
of Sudden Death caused by Cardiac Arrest
Sudden death caused by cardiac arrest can be avoid
or prevented by a simple exercise as a
regular breathe in and out… especially when you feel a sudden chest pain… lie
flat with your face up, then breathe in and out for about 5 minutes or so… if
you feel relief find your way to a hospital to check your heart condition
… if you’re still feeling the pain, call out for
help… and get someone to quickly rush you to a hospital before it gets worst.
Death is best treated by prevention. Most cardiac
arrest is associated to a chronic heart related diseases. The risk population
being male of all ages who smokes and take in excessive alcohol drinks… those
who have high blood pressure and diabetes (the risk factor for heart attack).
Other risk group include Syncope(Fainting or loss of
consciousness) and known heart disease like palpitation (abnormal heart rhythm).
Regular
Medical Examination and Monitoring
Football clubs must insist that their players go for
regular medical check… a suspicion based on a player’s medical history,
physical examination, laboratory test and EKG
In Players with symptoms of chest pain, aside from
making diagnoses, monitoring both heart rate and rhythm is emphasized before
the player is allowed to play.
Quick
Action to Revive a Player that suffers a Sudden Cardiac Arrest
The definitive treatment for the few people who
survived sudden cardiac arrest is by the use of electricity to shock the heart
back into a regular rhythm. With present technology, Automated External Defibrillator (AED) is used to shock the heart.
First Aid treatment for a player that suddenly collapsed while playing is a quick cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)therapy
before the AED Arrives.
Clubs should institute CPR education and how to use
AED, so all team players can quickly attend to a player that suddenly collapsed while playing.
NFF must insist as an operating standard that every
team must have AED available in every match or training venue to prevent
further loss of lives.
