cardiac arrest

For those high schools in California that still don’t have an athletic trainer, what happened last week at San Clemente High was another reason why they are so valuable for the safety reasons. And also proven was the requirement that coaches be certified in CPR every two years.

As a soccer class was ending last Thursday, an assistant coach fell to the ground. Head coach Chris Murray thought he tripped. Then he looked into his eyes, which appeared dilated, and saw that his face was purple. While a football coach nearby was calling 911, Murray began chest compressions.

Athletic trainer Amber Anaya received a text in her office that said, “Emergency.” She got into her golf cart that contained her automated external defibrilator (AED) machine and raced to the field within two minutes. She determined the coach was in cardiac arrest.

While Anaya hooked up her AED machine to the coach, Murray continued chest compressions. The AED machine evaluated the patient and recommended one shock. This went on for some seven minutes until paramedics arrived. Another shock was given after the paramedics took over.

The coach was transported to a hospital and survived. He would receive a pacemaker. It was a happy ending thanks to people who knew what to do in case of an emergency.

Last school year, the Culver City athletic trainer helped save a track athlete who went into cardiac arrest.

Murray said what he did was based on instincts and adrenaline. As soon as the ambulance left, he said he collapsed to his knee exhausted.

“His ribs are sore but not broken,” Murray said, “so I guess I did good.”

All the preparation in case of an emergency was put to good use by the coach trained in CPR and the athletic trainer who knew how to use an AED machine.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email [email protected].

With the high school sports season resuming, it can’t be stressed enough about the importance of schools having athletic trainers to help keep athletes safe when emergencies happen.

That was never more evident than last spring during a track and field meet at Culver City High.

At the end of a 400-meters freshman race, a runner dropped to the ground on his chest near the finish line. The initial impression by most observers was just another exhausted athlete from a grueling race.

Culver City first-year athletic trainer Jonathan Rivas, fresh out of graduating from Cal State Northridge, was immediately on the scene to evaluate. That’s when things got serious.

“He didn’t have a pulse,” Rivas said.

He determined the athlete from Inglewood High was in full cardiac arrest.

He instructed one of his assistants to call 911 and the other to retrieve the AED defibrillator. He started compressions. He hooked up the unresponsive athlete to the automatic defibrillator. It advised one shock. Rivas pushed the button. It worked. The shock brought the athlete back.

Paramedics arrived within five minutes to take over and transport him to the hospital. The athlete would learn he needed a pacemaker. The quick action by the athletic trainer helped save him.

Athletic trainer Jonathan Rivas of Culver City.

(George Laase)

“This was my first cardiac arrest,” the 28-year-old Rivas said. “I was super stressful. Honestly, I went on auto pilot. My main goal was to get this kid help as fast as possible.”

The majority of high schools don’t have athletic trainers. In the City Section, there’s only 12 out of 71 that have 11-man football teams.

Adam Cady, an athletic trainer for Kaiser Permanente, has started a nonprofit trying to help athletes gain access to trainers.

“It’s super important,” Rivas said of schools having an athletic trainer.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email [email protected].

Dave Edmunds suffered a “major cardiac arrest” and faces a “very long journey” to recovery, according to his wife, who detailed the Welsh musician’s health struggles in a Facebook post.

Best known perhaps for his 1970 hit “I Hear You Knocking,” Edmunds — who also formed the band Rockpile with Nick Lowe — “died in my arms while I desperately tried to keep him alive,” Cici Edmunds wrote in the July 29 post, before doctors revived him “by a miracle.” Dave Edmunds, 81, “very clearly has brain damage and severe memory loss” after the ordeal, Cici Edmunds wrote, and he faces the high risk of another cardiac arrest.

“And if that occurs there is no chance for Dave,” Cici Edmunds added.

Dave Edmunds topped the U.K. pop singles chart for six weeks in 1970 with his rendition of “I Hear You Knocking,” which the R&B singer Smiley Lewis originally popularized in the mid-1950s. Among Edmunds’ other solo hits are “Girls Talk” (written by Elvis Costello), “Born to Be with You” and a cover of the Ronettes’ “Baby, I Love You.” He formed Rockpile in 1976 and later produced records by the Stray Cats and the Fabulous Thunderbirds, among other acts. He also toured as a member of Ringo Starr’s All-Starr Band.

In her Facebook post, Cici Edmunds thanked her husband’s fans “for your support and well wishes” and said they have made “this tremendously difficult journey a little easier.”