Sudden cardiac arrest after being hit in the chest by a ball--a rare but usually fatal condition called commotio cordis--almost always happens in children. But while many colleges and high schools have AEDs, not many grade schools do.
Many diseases can cause sudden cardiac death in young athletes and in spectators, according to Dr. Neal J. Thomas, a pediatric critical care specialist from Penn State Children's Hospital, in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Keeping a defibrillator nearby may save the lives of children, coaches and bystanders.
In December 2005, Dr. Thomas and his team reported on the case of a healthy 13-year-old boy who experienced sudden cardiac arrest after being hit by a baseball. Coaches started CPR immediately and paramedics shocked the boy back into normal sinus rhythm using an AED. Heart-monitoring records prove the child was in life-threatening ventricular fibrillation and that the AED shock converted him back to a normal rhythm.
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