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NFL star Damar Hamlin's cardiac arrest fuels reminders about importance of learning CPR

Reagan High School's assistant athletics trainer Joe Martinez learned what happened and was reminded of the time he saved a student's life in 2018.

SAN ANTONIO — The collapse of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin shocked football fans nationwide Monday night, sparking conversations about the importance of learning CPR to potentially save lives on and off the field.

“What happened then immediately brings back what happened here at Reagan on our basketball court and just kind of makes everything real again,” said Joe Martinez, assistant athletics trainer at Ronald Reagan High School in San Antonio.

Martinez recalls one Tuesday morning in January 2018 when he alongside coach John Hirsh saved a student basketball player who had collapsed during practice. This was Martinez’s first time applying his years-worth of CPR first aid training to the test in a real-life scenario.

“Coach Hirst and the basketball team, they did a magnificent job of everybody was where they were at, my student trainers came in with me, slid the AED right next to me and thankfully we were able to perform successful CPR,” Martinez said. 

Martinez watched and read what happened on the football field in Cincinnati where Hamlin had suffered cardiac arrest after completing a tackle during the game’s first quarter. 

Hamlin received on-site medical treatment for 20 minutes before being rushed to the hospital in critical condition. On-the-field first responders administered CPR and an AED (automated external defibrillator) to restore Hamlin’s heartbeat.

“Automated external defibrillators have allowed us to convert otherwise fatal rhythm disturbances, particularly ventricular fibrillation in a way that we’ve never been able to do before,” said Dr. Fred Campbell, a Clinical Professor of Medicine at UT Health San Antonio. 

Campbell stressed AEDs if administered correctly have the potential to save people’s lives. The devices became publicly available in the late 70s early 80s. 

“The advent of the possibility of reversing a fatal heart rhythm outside of a hospital is a real advance,” Campbell said.

While Hamlin recovers in the hospital, Martinez wants to remind everyone that anyone can become a first responder when it comes to a life-or-death situation on or off the field.   

“I challenge every one of my students that take my class to find a class find a training get it done because they may need it to save a life," Martinez said. 

To learn about CPR/AED classes offered by the Red Cross, go here.

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