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Cardiac Safety in Sports Arenas

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Textbook of Sports and Exercise Cardiology

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Abstract

Mass gathering sports events have some unique characteristics that need to be considered when organizing the emergency medical care for any arena. Sudden cardiac arrest represents the most challenging emergency for which mass gathering sports events organizers must be prepared, in order to provide a prompt and adequate response with cardiopulmonary resuscitation and defibrillation, to improve chances of survival, regardless of the size and specific characteristics of the venue and event. Organizing the emergency medical care in sports arenas requires a written detailed description of all medical resources needed and its use. This medical action plan should be specifically tailored for each venue and ideally adjusted for each event.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Rehabilitation, Sports Medicine and Physiotherapy Department, Hospital Universitario Quironsalud Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Luis Serratosa

  2. Ripoll & De Prado Sport Clinic, FIFA Medical Centre of Excellence, Madrid, Spain

    Luis Serratosa

  3. Department of Sports Medicine, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa

    Efraim Kramer

  4. Medical Department, Diakonhjemmet Hospital, Oslo, Norway

    Erik Ekker Solberg

  5. Neuroscience and Physiology & Center for Health and Performance, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden

    Mats Börjesson

Authors
  1. Luis Serratosa
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  2. Efraim Kramer
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  3. Erik Ekker Solberg
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  4. Mats Börjesson
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Private Center for Sports and Exercise Cardiology, München, Bayern, Germany

    Axel Pressler

  2. University Institute of Sports Medicine Prevention and Rehabilitation, Paracelsus Medical University Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria

    Josef Niebauer

Chapter Review

Chapter Review

1.1 Questions

  1. 1.

    Which of the following factors have a positive effect on the outcome of sudden cardiac arrest within a sports stadium or arena?

    1. (a)

      A frequently rehearsed stadium Medical Action Plan

    2. (b)

      Adequate quantities of AEDs located within the sport stadium environment

    3. (c)

      Training of cardiopulmonary resuscitation to large numbers of personnel working within the sport stadium structure, in whatever capacity

    4. (d)

      Highly visible, mobile emergency medical teams on-duty within the sport stadium environment

    5. (e)

      All of the above

  2. 2.

    Survival rates from sport stadium (out of hospital) SCA can be as high as 70% if effective CPR and AED use is undertaken within which recommended time period?

    1. (a)

      Within 3–5 min of victim collapse

    2. (b)

      Within 3–5 min of sport stadium communication centre notification

    3. (c)

      Within 3–5 min of mobile medical team activation

    4. (d)

      Within 3–5 min of sport stadium ambulance personnel notification

    5. (e)

      None of the above

  3. 3.

    Key aspects that should be addressed in the Medical Action Plan of every sports stadium or arena include which of the following?

    1. (a)

      Defined roles and responsibilities of all medical and health care personnel

    2. (b)

      Fully checked, clean, functional medical equipment including AEDs

    3. (c)

      Functional communication system for all medical and healthcare teams

    4. (d)

      Coordination and communication with local health care resources

    5. (e)

      All of the above

  4. 4.

    Which of the following factors may increase the level of risk for the provision of effective and efficient medical services within a sport stadium or arena?

    1. (a)

      The architectural design of the stadium

    2. (b)

      The level of athlete contacts within the sport type

    3. (c)

      The expected weather conditions in conventional outdoor stadiums or arenas

    4. (d)

      Rivalry between opposing team fans

    5. (e)

      All of the above

1.2 Answers

  1. 1.

    All of the above. All of the above factors have a positive effect of obtaining successful outcomes for any SCA located within a sports stadium or arena environment.

  2. 2.

    Within 3–5 min of victim collapse, as this is the critical time when cardiac output ceases within the victim and restoration of cardiac flow within 3–5 min is the crucial research proven time for achieving successful Return of Spontaneous Circulation

  3. 3.

    All of the above. All of the above factors are key aspects that should be addressed in the Medical Action Plan (MAP) of every sports stadium or arena tournament.

  4. 4.

    All of the above. All of the above-mentioned factors increase the level of risk for the provision of effective and efficient medical services within a sport stadium or arena and need to be compensated for by increasing the levels of medical and healthcare personnel, medical equipment, communication devices etc.

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Serratosa, L., Kramer, E., Solberg, E.E., Börjesson, M. (2020). Cardiac Safety in Sports Arenas. In: Pressler, A., Niebauer, J. (eds) Textbook of Sports and Exercise Cardiology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-35374-2_28

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-35374-2_28

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-35373-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-35374-2

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