In July 2023, USC basketball player Bronny James, son of LeBron James, collapsed unexpectedly during a practice session. After three days in the hospital, James’ cardiac arrest was attributed to an underlying congenital heart defect that left him vulnerable to potential coronary complications. The shocking heart attack of a high-profile, seemingly healthy basketball player sent ripples through the public imagination, raising alarm about Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) in young athletes.
What is SCA / Symptoms:
SCA is when the heart’s electrical system experiences complications that cause it to beat irregularly, also known as arrhythmias. According to the National Library of Medicine(NIH), SCA is usually caused by coronary artery disease and anomalies, which account for up to 80% of the cases. The other causes are usually obesity, fibrosis, and alcoholism. Athletes experiencing SCA can undergo sudden collapses, inability to breathe, absent pulse, and a loss of consciousness. While the onset and event of SCA are very similar to a heart attack, the latter is caused by blood flow to parts of the heart being blocked, not changes in electrical activity.
How It Affects High School Students:
In the context of high school and collegiate athletics, victims of SCA are more often than not nearing or at the peak health and fitness of their lives. According to the NIH, accounting for differences in aspects such as routines, injury proneness, and gender, the average person’s athletic peak is between 20 and 30 years old. This means that the usual causes of SCA cannot be feasible explanations for SCA in athletes whose hearts have an increased capacity for oxygen. It is usually attributed to underlying heart defects and myocarditis cases that the athletes themselves may not even be aware of, such as in the case of Bronny James. While many claim that increasingly exposed cases in high school athletes are linked to COVID-19 vaccinations, evidence for direct causation is scarce.
Prevention:
While underlying congenital and general heart defects cannot be cured and can only be mitigated with time, there are ways to prevent and lower the likelihood of SCA if you are a young athlete. The most important points are to maintain a healthy weight, stay away from smoking and alcoholism, eat a healthy and balanced diet including ample protein, manage stress levels, and get at least 150 minutes of exercise a week, according to Tenet Healthcare.Â
Closing / How to Improve Overall Health for Athletes:
While only one in 50,000 to 80,000 young athletes die of SCA each year per Mayo Clinic, which is far below the national yearly average of one in 1,000 in the general population, athletes today are more concerned about it than ever before. However, with the necessary health precautions, student-athletes should not be a major fear or concern for young and fit athletes.
