What’s the Deal With Athletes Collapsing?

January 9th. Eaglecrest faces off against Rock Canyon in a matchup between two likely playoff teams. The tightly contested game finds its way into overtime, tied at 54. As the clock ticks down, Rock Canyon pushes its way out in front. After a timeout, Ladavian King walks his way back onto the court and collapses. Athletic trainer James Campbell rushes onto the court and attaches a defibrillator to King. After what seemed like an eternity, an ambulance arrives and transports King to a hospital. King was just severely dehydrated, but incidents like this one have increased in number in recent years. Or have they?

Since the COVID pandemic, rumors have swirled that the COVID-19 vaccines have caused heart problems, especially in athletes. While a correlation seems to exist between the two, there is no significant evidence that exists to back up that claim, except for a lone Dutch study.

This study finds that, for 7 days immediately following vaccination against COVID-19, there is a slight decrease in VO₂ max which could increase the likelihood of a significant cardiac event. VO₂ max measures the maximum amount of oxygen that a person can consume during physical activity. While this study might provide a link between the vaccine and heart issues, there is not enough research to scientifically connect the two.

Bills safety Damar Hamlin poses for the camera following his return (Photo: WROC TV).

So what’s behind this increase in cardiac events, particularly among high-profile athletes like Bronny James and Keyontae Johnson?

Well, the answer is relatively simple, according to Eaglecrest’s head athletic trainer James Campbell.

“We have media in our hands 24/7,” Campbell said, “I think awareness of these events that are happening is increasing, not really so much as an actual increase in the true number of incidents.”

This seems to fit. Plenty of instances of athletes passing away after suffering cardiac events while exercising, most notably Reggie Lewis and Hank Gathers, who both suffered fatal cardiac arrests in the 1990s while working out.

So is there anything that can be done to prevent these seemingly random collapses?

“There are screenings that sometimes are done and you can get an EKG on physicals to maybe catch some of these instances, but sometimes these situations only happen under stress,” Campbell said, “so it might not be as effective or worth the cost to mandate screenings.”