How ready is the AFL for a player who collapses on the field

[garygee]

A couple of years ago an Adelaide official/trainer had an episode at a game and was saved.

 

[pazza]

I think it was the incident involving Richard Osborne in Sydney nearly 20 years ago that sharpened the AFL's act up.

They were very lucky that the NSW Ambulance was at the ground ready to go - just remembering the incident sends shivers up my spine. Nowadays it is common to have at least 2 Ambulances and possibly more ready to give that urgent assistance if it is required.

The same cannot be said at state and local levels. I have seen incidents at local level that have had ages of time for ambulances to attend and games have been halted by anything up to 40 minutes plus at times and that's a concern.

 

[The Smaller Warrior]

Pretty confident a Port player collapsed quiet a few years back when I was at a game.

Think it may have been some way heart related

Edit; Was Eagleton is seems as mentioned earlier in the thread.

In a match in 1999, he collapsed on field, and was diagnosed and treated for Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome

 

[JUBJUB]

I think it was the incident involving Richard Osborne in Sydney nearly 20 years ago that sharpened the AFL's act up.

They were very lucky that the NSW Ambulance was at the ground ready to go - just remembering the incident sends shivers up my spine. Nowadays it is common to have at least 2 Ambulances and possibly more ready to give that urgent assistance if it is required.

I was at that game and you could've heard a pin drop while the medicos were working on Osborne.Then to see an ambulance come on the ground was more of a worry.I think Dale Lewis and Paul Lynch were the other 2 players in the collison,but they escaped with minor injuries.

 

[jonesy86]

IIRC there was a Pies player who went down a long way behind play at the Docklands, I don't remember who it was though, but it took a little while for the docs to even notice the player on his haunches.

 

[xellis]

As others have said, major sporting games/events would have to be about the best place to have a cardiac arrest out side of hospital. Expert medical staff and equipment is waiting on hand.

Fab is extremely lucky that this didn't occur later when he may have been by himself or around those less capable of assisting.

 

[JOELY]

IIRC there was a Pies player who went down a long way behind play at the Docklands, I don't remember who it was though, but it took a little while for the docs to even notice the player on his haunches.

It was actually Didak, which is funny after someone had a crack at him earlier in the thread. One of the scarier things I've seen at the footy.

 

[Slattery_20]

1st off, it is uncommon. Bloody uncommon.
Think of how many thousands of sportsmen & women go out there each and every week around the world, and there's no more than a handful of cases.


A bloke I know used to do the St Johns at the G. Heart attacks on a regular basis. As there would be with any population of 50,000 people.
If you are going to do it, go into the concourse. They'll get to you in minutes if not seconds.
Biggest problem is getting to them, down the aisles etc.
There are multiple ambulances at an AFL game.

I'm pretty sure, it's required by leagues to have an ambulance at every game.

Certainly the bigger suburban leagues, but I'm not sure about ammos & country footy.

 

[giantroo]

IIRC there was a Pies player who went down a long way behind play at the Docklands, I don't remember who it was though, but it took a little while for the docs to even notice the player on his haunches.

It was actually Didak, which is funny after someone had a crack at him earlier in the thread. One of the scarier things I've seen at the footy.

Came in to say exactly this. It was Alan Didak.

Yep, he collapsed with an Irregular heartbeat. It was against North Melbourne(comeback game) in 2005 and some people thought Firrito(i think?) decked him. I remember on the same night, was watching White Line Fever with Clinton Grybas(R.I.P) speaking about it and clarified that it was an irregular heartbeat. I used to have the footage of the exact moment but have lost it.

 

[Mr_Bojangles]

Too soon?

WHo could be ready for such a thing? Happened twice now in Soccer around the world, while the chances with Soccer being played much more world wide the AFL couldn't do harm with fitting stadiums with some equiptment

I know some Crazy loon in W.A. was demanding all amateur sports clubs fit themselves with them at the cost of the amateur clubs.

It's happened at least 5 times to my knowledge in Soccer and Muamba and a couple of others are the only one to pull through. Marc Vivian Foe in France died when playing for Cameroon in the the Confederations Cup and Antonio Puerta died when playing for Sevilla in La Liga.

Miguel Garcia suffered a heart attack when playing for Real Betis in a second division Spanish game put pulled through, as did former Celtic defender Evander Sno also collapsed with a heart attack for Ajax in a reserve game put pulled through after being zapped out on the pitch by paramedics. It's amazing it has happened too often in Europe like that.

Anyone remember when a doctor jumped the fence at the WACA when Dwayne Lamp swallowed his tongue and started convulsing? Not a heart attack I know but showed what can happen without the proper facilities.

 

[JUBJUB]

Anyone remember when a doctor jumped the fence at the WACA when Dwayne Lamp swallowed his tongue and started convulsing? Not a heart attack I know but showed what can happen without the proper facilities.

Was that Dr Hugh Steward,the Geelong doctor at the time ?

 

[kaysee]

Nathan Eagleton certainly did collapse on the field @ AAIM back in 1999... he suffered from an irregular heart-beat medical issue (there is a more medical team for it).

The game went on once he was off in the change rooms.

 

[helicopter]

I know the eastern football league is installing defibs

 

[Dirty Bird]

There are two AFL examples to go by.

in the early 2000s a Swans trainer had a heart attack right at the interchange and died right in front of the Swans bench at the SCG. Treatment was swift but not successful.

Was it two years ago a Geelong doctor collopased in the warm up and was clinically dead in Adelaide. Quick work and care brought him back and he survived.

There is nothing for certain but I think an AFL ground for the players and staff would, aside from hospital, be the best place for it to happen if it were to happen.

Good games those days.
Kangaroos come back from no where to beat the Swans, and ADleaide upset Geelong.

Shit about the incidents though, at least the Geelong guy is back out there now in the same role

 

[Docker Clint]

Didn't Nathan Eagleton collapse on field with a heart problem many years back?

Correct. It wasn't a heart attack but a nerve condition where there's an extra bundle of nerve fibres that affect the heart muscle contractions. His heart rate was something ridiculous like 250BPM.

From memory Choco sent him back on after the collapse because it wasn't known what was really wrong. Happy to be corrected on that.

The AFL is as ready as it can be for a player collapsing on the field, medical teams are equipped for any emergency.

 

[seanoff]

It's happened at least 5 times to my knowledge in Soccer and Muamba and a couple of others are the only one to pull through. Marc Vivian Foe in France died when playing for Cameroon in the the Confederations Cup and Antonio Puerta died when playing for Sevilla in La Liga.

Miguel Garcia suffered a heart attack when playing for Real Betis in a second division Spanish game put pulled through, as did former Celtic defender Evander Sno also collapsed with a heart attack for Ajax in a reserve game put pulled through after being zapped out on the pitch by paramedics. It's amazing it has happened too often in Europe like that.

Anyone remember when a doctor jumped the fence at the WACA when Dwayne Lamp swallowed his tongue and started convulsing? Not a heart attack I know but showed what can happen without the proper facilities.

Phil O'Donnell died playing for Motherwell in 2007. Hank Gathers died playing NCAA basketball. and FMD there's a wiki page for sportsmen who have died.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sportspeople_who_died_during_their_careers

most from unrelated stuff (car accidents, murders, suicides etc) but a surprising number in training or in competition.

 

[The Falcon Strike]

Didn't the Geelong doctor have a major heart attack on field last year?

The other medical staff rallied around him pretty quickly and avoided a tragedy from memory.

 

[DarkPhoenix]

Offtopic, its amazing how often soccer players go down with cardiac related problems. It seems higher than the norm to me.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_association_footballers_who_died_while_playing

I know these are over an extended period, but theres ALOT of heart problems.

This is the one that jumped to mind immediately: Miklos Feher.

Seriously, the footage is distressing, if you are easily upset I recommend you dont watch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAVo1G5utf8

They had EMTs, Ambulances, Everything and he still didnt make it

 

[seanoff]

Offtopic, its amazing how often soccer players go down with cardiac related problems. It seems higher than the norm to me.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_association_footballers_who_died_while_playing

I know these are over an extended period, but theres ALOT of heart problems.

This is the one that jumped to mind immediately: Miklos Feher.

Seriously, the footage is distressing, if you are easily upset I recommend you dont watch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAVo1G5utf8

They had EMTs, Ambulances, Everything and he still didnt make it

christ, that was instant. i sec smiling, the next, gone. poor bastard

 

[scarecrow2k1]

Not sure if it's been mentioned already but the team Douggie Hawkins coached that had the juniour player pass away last year has lead a big fundraising push. Have been raising money to get defribiliators at all football grounds in the state- have got a few hundred thus far apparently

 

[rdhopkins2]

I'm guessing heart checks would be done at draft camp if not at TAC or equivalent level to give footy clubs the best chance of awareness about players with possible cardio conditions?

All in all, a stadium or training at elite level is the best spot I believe to have a heart attack too. Short of visiting a patient in a heart hospital.

 

[TAITA]

Not sure if it's been mentioned already but the team Douggie Hawkins coached that had the juniour player pass away last year has lead a big fundraising push. Have been raising money to get defribiliators at all football grounds in the state- have got a few hundred thus far apparently

500 so far scarecrow - at a cost of $1.2 million dollars that has been donated by the community and community minded businesses.

http://www.defibforlife.org.au/the-rollout

This one is a bit close to home for me as I had a workmate die from an undiagnosed heart condition a few years ago whilst playing - came off the line after the 3 quarter time break and didn't even make the contest before falling to the ground and that was the end of it - over at 24.

But it's not just players - certainly in the bush the local footy is a community event and there are no ambulances - even in the major leagues.

These devices save lives.

If Big Footy was ever to have a 'cause' -there aren't many better than this.

 

[SM]

I would actually think AFL would be one of the safest sports in the world for a couple of reasons:

1. There are three umpires on the field at one time. If a ref in Soccer was focussed on play and didn't notice the player go down, there may be a delay in treatment or recognising the severity of the situation.

2. Runners for each team are allowed on the field at any time anyway, in soccer you have to be given permission to run onto the pitch. Obviously if a player dropped dead people would disregard the rules, but I think in AFL there'd be those extra few seconds where they'd react regardless.

 

[mojito]

I would actually think AFL would be one of the safest sports in the world for a couple of reasons:

1. There are three umpires on the field at one time. If a ref in Soccer was focussed on play and didn't notice the player go down, there may be a delay in treatment or recognising the severity of the situation.

Fair enough, but that's assuming that none of the players see it either. Look at the Feher video. Players were over him within seconds trying to get him into the recovery position. Find a video of the Antonio Puerta incident and it's the same thing.

Also worth noting that many top-level refs in soccer are now miked up, and can communicate with each other, even if they're all focusing on different areas. There's also additional coverage with refs on each goal-line nowadays, so there's less chance off off-the ball incidents going without notice.

As is the nature of these things, even the smallest of seconds counts.

 

[LordLucifer]

500 so far scarecrow - at a cost of $1.2 million dollars that has been donated by the community and community minded businesses.

http://www.defibforlife.org.au/the-rollout

This one is a bit close to home for me as I had a workmate die from an undiagnosed heart condition a few years ago whilst playing - came off the line after the 3 quarter time break and didn't even make the contest before falling to the ground and that was the end of it - over at 24.

But it's not just players - certainly in the bush the local footy is a community event and there are no ambulances - even in the major leagues.

These devices save lives.

If Big Footy was ever to have a 'cause' -there aren't many better than this.

What they are proposing to get there are whats known in the trade as an AED (Automated External Defibrillator) and has voice prompts and easy to follow pictures of where to palce the pads etc. They normally cost around $3K each and have a battery life of around 2 years.

The reason why the AED would be used is because you don't have to be a fully trained medico to use them. The full-blown defibrillators with the metal pads that you see in the TV shows where they yell "CLEAR" before they zap the bejesus out of the patient can only be used by the medicos.