Cardiac Trauma

Abstract

In this research, we will be discussing about the disease of cardiac trauma and the effects of blunt cardiac trauma. We will also be discussing two cases of blunt cardiac trauma and what were the treatments they went through to survive from this harmful disease.

Blunt Cardiac Trauma

Thesis Statement

“The medical community and even the media are growing in awareness of several of these cardiac conditions, most notably hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and long QT syndrome”.

Introduction

Blunt Trauma is basically referred to a disease which is caused by a collision with a blunt (worn down edgy) surface or a blunt object. For instance, this disease could be caused to an individual if he falls from a heighted surface or meets with a vehicle accident. Cardiac trauma is referred to a disease that affects the chest and injury is caused to the chest in case of cardiac trauma. In blunt cardiac trauma, any one or all components of the thoracic cavity and the chest wall could be affected. The components which could be affected by blunt trauma include esophagus, diaphragm, pleurae and lungs, scapulae, heart great vessels of the chest, tracheobronchial tree, clavicles, ribs and sternum.

Discussion

Sudden death in people especially athletes who otherwise appear healthy has often been attributed to an underlying structural or electrical defect in the individual's heart. This is not unjustified, as many sudden deaths in apparently healthy athletes have eventually been linked to an undiagnosed cardiac condition. The medical community and even the media are growing in awareness of several of these cardiac conditions, most notably hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and long QT syndrome. Vigilant screening aimed at detecting these potentially lethal conditions is part of the standard of care with regard to medical preparticipation exams of athletes.

However, sudden cardiac death in the athlete has also been observed when no previous heart defect was noted. In fact, it is well recognized that blunt, nonpenetrating, and seemingly innocuous blows to the chest may result in sudden death during competitive or even recreational sports activities. Commotio cordis (Latin for commotion of the heart) is the term commonly used to describe these cases of sudden cardiac death caused by chest blows. In reality, however, there are a small percentage of cases in which an individual is fortunate enough to survive a commotio cordis event.

Commotio cordis is a cardiac contusion brought about by sudden, nonpenetrating precordial trauma or impact, which causes arrhythmias (ventricular fibrillation [VF]) and, subsequently, sudden cardiac death without any evidence of cardiac injury on autopsy.



Data Collected

Epidemiology

Accurate demographics pertaining to commotio cordis are somewhat limited by the relatively small number of cases compared with other known sports-related disease entities. A lack of recognition of commotio cordis and underreporting are also likely contributing factors. It is considered the second most common cause of sudden cardiac death after hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (Link, et al., 2008).

One commonly used source for confirmed cases of commotio cordis is the U.S. Commotio Cordis Registry (Minneapolis, Minnesota). The registry compiles information from a number of sources, including the media and the Internet, ...