'Stayin' Alive:' Song's beat can save a life

When two well-known athletes suffer cardiac arrest within seven months of each other, coaches take notice.

Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field in a nationally televised NFL game on Jan. 2. Bronny James, son of NBA superstar LeBron James, collapsed during basketball practice last month.

Flagler Palm Coast High School head football coach Daniel Fish and assistant Jason Winkler felt the Bulldogs should be prepared for the worst scenarios, so they invited Flagler County Fire Rescue Community Paramedics Rob Errett and Tracy Farmer to teach their players hands-only cardiopulmonary resuscitation on Aug. 4 in the FPC cafeteria.

Firefighter-paramedics Ronald Titus, and Jaevon Jones — a 2020 FPC alumni of the Fire Leadership Academy — assisted with the training, according to a Flagler County press release.

“This emergency procedure can help save a life when breathing or the heart stops,” Farmer was quoted in the press release. “The American Red Cross has determined that chest compressions can be effective without breaths. You want to push hard and fast, 100 to 120 compressions a minute, with a depth of two inches.”

Farmer showed a video of a possible scenario that emphasized that the Bee Gees song “Stayin’ Alive” is precisely the right rhythm for performing CPR, the press release stated.

According to the Center for Disease Control, CPR can double or triple the chance of survival if it is performed in the first few minutes of cardiac arrest.

No cause has been reported for the cardiac arrest suffered by 18-year-old Bronny James late last month. According to the American Heart Association, 25-year-old Hamlin’s cardiac arrest was caused by “commotio cordis,” a rare event caused by a blow to the chest in which the impact induces a potentially lethal heart rhythm disturbance, or arrhythmia, called ventricular fibrillation.

According to the CDC, a special certification or formal training is not required to perform CPR, “but you do need education,” the CDC website states. “If cardiac arrest happens to someone near you, don’t be afraid – just be prepared!”

Errett also spoke to the football players about heat related illnesses such as heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke.