Despite all the goals, hattricks, dribbles, and moments of magic, EURO 2020 will always be remembered for a rather heartbreaking incident ie, Christian Eriksen collapsing on the field during his team’s group stage match against Finland. According to the medical team that attended the Denmark midfielder, Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest and had to be resuscitated using a defibrillator. This incident gave rise to a massive movement that aimed to increase the accessibility of defibrillators, medical equipment, and first aid knowledge across the world of football.
A similar mishappening took place in this week’s premier league fixture between Tottenham Hotspurs and Newcastle United, wherein a fan in the stands suffered a cardiac arrest. Due to the swift action that was taken by Spurs players Eric Dier and Sergio Reguilon, the medical team, the fan’s condition stabilized after being given first aid treatment.
These incidents were followed by much-needed actions intended to make the game of football safer for everyone involved. The Premier League launched a Defibrillator fund which would see thousands of grassroots football facilities gain access to Automated External Defibrillators(AEDs). Each grassroots facility would also require to have at least 1 person who has completed The FA Education’s free online Sudden Cardiac Arrest course. It is estimated that more than 1.5 million people will be benefited once the AEDs have been installed. The first 1000 units were already delivered before the beginning of the 2021/22 season. For the readers, a Defibrillator is a device used to give high voltage electric shocks to an unconscious person’s heart.
Various broadcasters like Sky Sports, BBC informed their respective audiences about the various ways to provide first aid treatment to a person in need. Former players like David Ginola and Fabrice Muamba who had also suffered on-pitch cardiac arrests, came forward to enlighten football fans on the issue.
Keeping such incidents in mind, one must know about administering first aid treatments like CPR. Given below are a few steps that need to be followed while administering CPR to a person in need:
1. Lay the patient on a firm surface. Kneel by their side and place the heel of your hand on their chest.
2. Straighten your arms, interlock, and raise your fingers so that they don’t touch the patient’s rib cage.
3. Give chest compressions at the rate of 100 per minute by placing your shoulders above your chest, hands firmly placed on the patient’s chest. Compress the chest by 2 inches.
4. Lift the patient’s chin to open their airways.
5. Pinch the patient’s nostrils, close them to give rescue breaths. Blow air until you see the chest rise.
6. Watch the chest fall, repeat steps 5 and 6.
Whilst performing the above steps, make sure that the patient does not swallow their tongue at any point. Call for medical help before administering CPR and follow the above steps until help arrives.
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