Shortly after Damar Hamlin, the Buffalo Bills safety who collapsed on the field following a hit during the Monday night football game against the Cincinnati Bengals, people began speculating about the cause.

While the Bills released an official statement Tuesday morning confirming that Hamlin, who is 24 years old, suffered cardiac arrest and is in critical condition, some people on social media have been pointing blame at the COVID-19 vaccine in the latest attempt to undermine the vaccines efficacy. Although Hamlins personal vaccine status remains unknown, the NFL reported earlier this year that 95% of players had been vaccinated.

To be honest, its way too early to speculate on a true cause of his cardiac arrest. There are a lot of theories, but you really cant make a diagnosis from a five-second video, says Dr. Michael Emery, cardiologist and codirector of the sports cardiology center at Cleveland Clinic. [Hamlin] will need and will get a lot of testing to hopefully reach a potential diagnosis. The [suggested] link between the COVID-19 vaccine [and cardiac arrest] is wildly and irresponsibly speculative from a very vocal minority.

Although vaccines and viruses, not just those related to COVID-19, can cause myocarditis, or inflammation of the heart, instances are rare.

Myocarditis can cause a person to become very sick and require hospitalization. And it can also lead to cardiac arrest, which is an electrical malfunction of the heart. 

Myocarditis is often caused by virusesany viral infection can cause it, explains Emery. It probably has to be a genetically susceptible person, but we dont understand why some people get a virus and do fine and why some people get myocarditis.

A study published in the American Heart Association journal found that the risk of developing myocarditis following a COVID-19 vaccine booster is low, and when it does occur, cases are typically mild. Teen boys and young men have the highest risk for myocarditis.

Weve always known that viruses can cause heart problems, and COVID is no different than other viruses that cause heart problems, says Emery. The problem is, so many people got COVID all at once that it looks like theres a huge rash of [heart problems].

If you have shortness of breath, excessive heart palpitations, or chest discomfort, then Emery recommends calling 911 and getting evaluated in a more comprehensive setting.

Youre more likely to develop a serious illness from the COVID virus itself than you are a COVID vaccine, Emery continues, as people whove contracted the virus can sometimes develop lingering effects, such as long COVID; require hospitalization; or may die from complications related to COVID-19. 

This is a case where correlation does not equal causation, Emery says.

Our new weekly Impact Report newsletter examines how ESG news and trends are shaping the roles and responsibilities of todays executives. Subscribe here.

A group of video game testers is forming Microsofts first labor union in the U.S., which will also be the largest in the video game industry.

The Communications Workers of America said Tuesday that a majority of about 300 quality-assurance workers at Microsoft video game subsidiary ZeniMax Studios have voted to join the union.

Microsoft already told the CWA it would accept the formation of the union at its Maryland-based video game subsidiary, fulfilling a promise it made to try to build public support for its $68.7 billion acquisition of another big game company, Activision Blizzard.

Microsoft bought ZeniMax for $7.5 billion in 2021, giving the Xbox-maker control of ZeniMaxs well-known game publishing division Bethesda Softworks and popular game franchises such as The Elder Scrolls, Doom and Fallout.

Senior game tester Wayne Dayberry said in an interview with The Associated Press that the unionization campaign began before Microsoft took over and reflected workplace concerns that are common at video game companies.

Throughout the industry, the quality assurance departments are treated poorly, paid very little, and treated as replaceable cogs, said Dayberry, who has worked for five years at ZeniMaxs Rockville, Maryland headquarters on games such as Fallout, Prey and The Evil Within.

Theres not a lot of dignity involved in it, he said. Thats something were hoping to show people in the industry who are in like situations, that if we can do it, they can do it as well.

The unionization campaign accelerated thanks to Microsofts ongoing bid to buy California-based game giant Activision Blizzard. Microsoft, which is based in Redmond, Washington, made a June pact with the CWA union to stay neutral if Activision Blizzard workers sought to form a union.

Microsofts legally binding agreement specifically applied to Activision Blizzard workers after the closing of the merger. But it also reflects Microsofts broader principles on handling unionization, which is still uncommon in the tech and gaming industries.

Dayberry said Microsofts neutrality promise gave workers confidence that there wouldnt be any retaliation or union-busting, which there has been none of.

They have definitely stood by their word all along, said CWA spokesperson Beth Allen. Its pretty momentous. Microsoft is an outlier in the way tech companies have been behaving.

The unionizing workers are based in Hunt Valley and Rockville, Maryland, as well as the Texas cities of Austin and Dallas.

Our new weekly Impact Report newsletter examines how ESG news and trends are shaping the roles and responsibilities of todays executives. Subscribe here.

Breanna Dietrich was on the waitlist at a daycare before her daughter was even born. Nearly two years later, a slot has yet to open up. 

Even if there was an opening at a childcare center in her hometown of Wheeling, W.V., Dietrich isnt sure shed be able to afford it. I have no idea what I can afford. The thought of that makes my chest hurt, she tells Fortune. 

Dietrich, 36, is now a stay-at-home mother to her blended family of four teenagers and a 17-month-old. Before having her youngest, she worked as a manager at a local outpost of a national pizza chain. But during her pregnancy, she battled health problemsincluding a heart conditionwithout any paid sick leave. Six months into her pregnancy, she was forced to quit after her supervisor wouldnt give her time off when she had to go to the hospital. 

Since then, the family has relied solely on the income her husband earns as a utility pole inspector, but they have struggled with rent, food, and billsespecially amidst high inflation and the formula shortage earlier this year. Im a mom of five, and my husband works, and he works out of town a lot of times, too. So its just me. And I am financially not able to work, which sounds crazy.

Nearly one in three (31%) rural Americans, including 75% of parents, have personally faced at least one type of childcare challenge, according to a new survey shared exclusively with Fortune and conducted by the Save the Children Action Network (SCAN) that polled 1,006 respondents living in rural areas or small towns. Like Deitrich, 11% have had to leave the workforce as a result. 

When you're in a rural community, and your childcare center closes or when your family provider stops doing that, its not like you then have this laundry list of other places to call. Often it's the only place to call or one of a very small number of places, Christy Gleason, the executive director of SCAN, tells Fortune. 

But many of these parents not only struggle to find available childcare options, they struggle to afford it. Most people in our area, I will tell you right now, cannot afford $700 or $800 a week [for childcare]. That's more than my husband makes, Dietrich says. And while there are free or reduced-fee programs, she says they tend to be full. I'm not going to pay [the price of] a college education for my child at a year old. I don't swim in gold coins at night.

In many rural and small-town communities, childcare centers are more than just a place to drop the kids while parents work, they provides children with basic needs like reliable meals. Children are experiencing their most stable, reliable, nutritious, balanced mealso that they can thrive, play, grow, and learnwith their [childcare] provider, says Mary Beth Salomone Testa, a consultant with Home Grown, a home-based childcare collaborative.

Hunger and childcare issues are interconnected

Half of parents living outside major metros say they are currently struggling to afford to feed their familiescompared to 32% of non-parents. And even more are worried about the future with a recession looming on the horizon and continuing economic headwinds. More than three-quarters of parents (77%) worry they might not be able to continue to put enough food on the table over the next year, SCANs survey finds.

The ability to have kids in affordable, quality childcare and early early childhood education programs does help alleviate and help address food security issues for kids, Gleason says. Parents currently utilizing childcare are slightly more likely to say theyre on better footing compared to those who report having childcare issues. 

Many childcare centers, daycares, and in-home providers are able to supply meals thanks to federal programs like the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). The federal policy reimburses centers, family childcare providers, Headstart programs, and even after-school care for providing up to two daily nutritious meals and a snack. 

Children are experiencing their most stable, reliable, nutritious, balanced mealso that they can thrive, play, grow, and learnwith their [childcare] provider.

Mary Beth Salomone Testa, a consultant with Home Grown, a home-based childcare collaborative

Its not a perfect program, Testa says, adding that the paperwork and red tape can be difficult for smaller providers to navigate. It's not a full reimbursementit's pennies on the dollar. But for participating childcare providers, it does add up and can be as much as $3,000 to $4,000 a year to help cushion providers food budget. 

Providers who are not in the program have to face the need to ask families to send in foodfamilies who are also struggling to pay for their own food, Testa says.

Childcare providers are never going to let a child go hungry when they can do something about it, Testa says. But they shouldn't have to do that on their ownand not while not food prices are so high.

During the pandemic, the USDA provided all family daycares with the higher, temporary reimbursement rate for CACFP, and in July 2022, that was extended through the 2022-23 school year. Congress included $4.7 billion in CACFP funding in the 2023 omnibus appropriations legislation, up from the $4.3 billion in funding allocated in FY2022, but thats not likely to make a huge impact given rising food prices. 

The funding allocated for FY2023 reflects the estimate the CACFP participation will increase, Testa says. This would be making up for lost participation during COVID, but it could be more especially considering that reimbursements cost more because of the inflation adjustment. She also noted that the lawmakers opted not to include funding for reimbursements for an additional meal, a policy change advocates were seeking.

The 2023 budget which President Joe Biden signed into law on Dec. 29does include $2.8 billion in new, additional funding for federal early learning and childcare programs, including a 30% increase in Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) program funding, according to an analysis by nonprofit First Five Years Fund. The CCDBG program is set to receive $8 billion (a $1.8 billion increase over FY2022), while Head Start and Early Head Start and the Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five (PDGB5) programs get more modest funding increases, but will have budgets of approximately $12 billion and $315 million for FY2023, respectively. 

"The more we can make affordable childcare available to families, then the more they're able to look at their budget in a different way because childcare is such a huge cost driver for families across this country, including in rural communities, Gleason says.

And every bit helps, says Julie Kashen, director of women's economic justice and senior fellow at The Century Foundation. "Without that help, then childcare providers are struggling just as much as families are strugglingand the cost of providing childcare is high. 

Funding is happening, but families are still struggling

Although Congress' recent funding increases are much-needed, it may not be enough. Especially given that the over $50 billion in pandemic-era stabilization grant and supplemental CCDBG funds are set to expire in September 2023 and 2024, respectively, though some states are already reporting they've run out of money.

That extra aid helped 200,000 childcare providers keep their doors open and serve as many as 9.5 million children over the past couple of years. The grants helped providers cope with soaring operational costs and help recruit and retain staff amid a national shortage. Without those funds, many childcare providers are facing a financial cliff with no real solutions in sight.

"The year-end omnibus was a start in providing some relief on child care and hunger but not nearly enough to address the scale of the crisis we see in these numbers," Gleason says.

Moreover, one of the biggest aids for families, the federal enhanced monthly Child Tax Credit (CTC), was not included in the latest end-of-the-year omnibus funding bill. Despite measurably reducing childhood poverty rates and improving American families ability to afford basic necessities, the policy has faced an uphill struggle to get renewed. 

Research indicates that while the CTC was being paid out monthly, the U.S. experienced its lowest child poverty rates on record, with a full 2.9 million children being affected directly by the policy. As of October, nine months after the last monthly payment was issued, child poverty rates had almost returned to pre-pandemic level, according to Columbia Universitys Center on Poverty and Social Policy.

Its not just about solving a single problem, Testa says. We need to connect the policies of housing and the policies of food and the policies of childcare, because families experience all of this at the same time.

Gleason agrees, saying at the end of the day, its one family budget. And thats how policymakers need to look at itand why programs like the monthly child tax credit were so helpful. 

The child tax credit is something that really does sit at the heart of both the food insecurity, the hunger issue, and the childcare and early childhood education issue, Gleason says. The CTC has the ability to put money back into family budgets. 

Having that extra monthly payment has a real world impact, particularly on the parent who is sitting in the grocery store making hard choices right now amid high inflation. SCANs survey found that as a result of high prices, 72% of rural Americans are changing how and what they buy at the storeand of course, some are going without. 

The more that we can address and provide federal investment for childcare, and help expand access to affordable, quality childcare and early educationthat has an impact on the family's budget overall, Gleason says. 

For Dietrich, her ability to get back into the workforce may shift when her daughter is old enough for schooland the family is already beginning to look into preschool options. But that too, is another challenge. While Dietrich says she feels a little sad her baby is growing up so fast, she's a big believer in the benefits of early childhood education, noting that kids who dont get that head start experience a snowball effect when they are older. 

The people that need the daycare the most can't afford it, Dietrich says. 

In January 2022, Tesla announced a final quarter crescendo during which vehicle sales grew at a staggering 87%, helping launch the companys shares into the upper stratosphere.   

This time around, however, Elon Musks Tesla limped into the new year with Q4 sales growth that far worse than anticipated. It wasnt just that the 405,000 cars Tesla handed over to customers during the final three months of last year fell short of the 420,000 consensus Wall Street estimatethe miss was downright awful.

The reaction was immediate: an already battered and beaten share price shed more than a tenth of its value to lows unseen since August 2020. Over the past 52 weeks, the stock has cratered 74%, losing more in market cap than the next 10 largest carmakers are currently worth combined.

Make no mistake about it, Teslas quarterly delivery figures offered the first hard proof the carmaker has a demand problem on its hands. Previously, all evidence suggested its growth was merely constrained by the number of cars it could produce. 

According to FactSet estimates, Musk fell short of even the most bearish forecast in the range. This was despite Tesla piling on price cuts in China and the U.S., and extending other incentives like lower insurance premiums and free supercharging miles. Making matters even worse, Wall Street analysts had already revised their estimates lower after already anticipating an impending miss.

Musk promised an epic end of year

One of those analysts, Mark Delaney of Goldman Sachs, reiterated his buy rating on the stock on Monday, but slashed his 2023 earnings estimates and stock price target for Tesla based on the poor results.

While we had reduced our estimates in our [December 13th] report reflecting weaker supply/demand, despite the incentives Tesla put in place in 4Q22, deliveries were still below our reduced estimate, Delaney wrote, cutting his target to $205 from a previous $235.

Tesla bear Toni Sacconaghi, an analyst with Bernstein, told clients that consumer demand for Tesla vehicles could flag even with this years scheduled arrival of the highly anticipated Cybertruck. 

He thinks Tesla will only be able to turn things around after it launches its Gen3 model, believed to be a more economical hatchback, that is supposed to start at around $25,000 and was first teased in September 2020. We see demand problems remaining until Tesla is able to introduce a lower priced offering in volume, which may only be in 2025, warned Sacconaghi on Monday.

The ultimately sobering quarter started out with far more ambitious promises from management. During a third-quarter earnings call in October, Musk had predicted an epic end of year. Indeed he dismissed any concerns he was running low on customers, perpetuating the belief that Tesla was only constrained by its supply of cars.

I cant emphasize enough, we have excellent demand for Q4, and we expect to sell every car that we make for as far into the future as we can see, crowed the CEO, who predicted Tesla would one day be worth more than Apple and Saudi Aramco combined. The factories are running at full speed and were delivering every car we make. 

His finance chief, Zach Kirkhorn, forecast annual deliveries would achieve just under 50% growth. In reality Tesla managed only 40%, and while that is an impressive result for any other carmaker, Musk made it clear it would be more. Unlike normal automakers that sell a car to a dealer, Tesla has no dealers and instead only fully recognizes revenue after delivering a car directly into its customers hands.

How will Tesla sell 2 million cars this year?

Adding to fears is the question of how Tesla can achieve the 2 million vehicle deliveries Wall Street has been anticipating for 2023 for several months.  

While Musk has said the company would enter the new year with the capacity to produce the necessary 40,000 cars per week, its unclear how hell find enough buyers at a time when an entire third of the planet may tumble in recession. 

Teslas competition from other manufacturers is also heating up with a bevy of new battery-powered SUVs, sedans and sports cars. Some vehicles like the Rivian R1T pickup truck have not only beaten Musk to market in their respective segments, they have won accolades as well. 

Normally Tesla stock would be rebounding after the shellacking it endured in December, when it lost nearly half its value. It is widely speculated many U.S. retail investors used the opportunity to harvest tax-deductible losses to offset capital gains elsewhere in their portfolios before the year ended. 

But this year has gotten off to more bad news even after Musk recently pledged to shareholders that he would not sell more of his Tesla stake this year.

In a surprise, Tesla on Monday announced an investor day in March. The previous explicitly labelled investor event was in September 2020, with subsequent public events deemed by Musk as primarily for recruiting for his growing AI and robotics teams. 

The planned investor event suggests Teslas board is concerned. Critics have recently complained that its members failed to exercise any oversight over Musk, who now is mainly focused on running Twitter after acquiring it in October for $44 billion.

Perhaps in response to growing concerns Musk is too distracted, news leaked to Reuters that the U.S.-educated boss of Tesla in China, Tom Zhu, would now lead all vehicle assembly and distribution in North America.

Either way, Tesla has a lot of work to do to regain the confidence of investors and prop up the companys sagging stock price. At press time, its shares had dropped 14% in mid-day trading to $106 after reaching as high as $402.67 last year.

Our new weekly Impact Report newsletter examines how ESG news and trends are shaping the roles and responsibilities of todays executives. Subscribe here.

After a busy spending season, consumers are ready to hit some major money goals in 2023. 

A recent survey by Personal Capital, a California-based wealth management company, found that across all generations, 31% of Americans are looking to build up their emergency fund this yearthe top financial resolution across all categories. The second top financial goal shared by 27% of respondents involves getting their finances in order, with 6% of respondents saying that they plan to meet with a financial advisor, and 10% planning to invest more in stocks and bonds.

Respondents also shared that they hoped to buy a home (9%), purchase a car (15%), and even host a wedding (8%). 

4 steps to hitting your 2023 financial resolutions 

Certain financial milestones like eliminating debt, investing, and purchasing a home can help you grow your net worth and build lasting wealth. In order to hit those milestones, youll need to follow a few steps to create a clear plan.

Choose your goals 

The start of a new year can be a great time to set goals and determine what kinds of financial priorities are important to you. Take some time to examine your financial situation and make a list of the goals youd like to achieve in the new year. You can decide to tackle short-term goals like saving a certain amount each month, making the last few payments on an auto loan, or investing a few dollars in the stock market. 

You can also set longer-term goals and begin making progress on those. This might include saving a certain amount for retirement, saving for a down-payment on a future home, or paying off your student loans. 

Having a mix of both short and long-term goals can give you the small wins you need to keep you going and the bigger wins you need to sustain yourself over time and you build wealth and your financial priorities change. 

Dust off and reevaluate your budget 

Budgets may feel restrictive, but your budget can give you an in-depth look at how much youre spending, what youre spending on, and how those dollars might be used to accomplish your financial goals. 

There are several approaches you can take to budgeting, including the 50/20/30 method, zero-based budgeting, the pay yourself first method, and the envelope budgeting system are all commonly used strategies to help you better organize your monthly finances and help you make progress on your financial goals. 

Once youve chosen a strategy that works for you, you can figure out how much income you have available to allocate toward your financial goals. You may also need to consider cutting back on certain spending categories to put more toward your goals.

Set a realistic timeline for what you want to achieve

Assign a timeline to each of your goals and be realistic about how long it may take you to hit your goal based on how much youll need to set aside to hit your goal. 

Say your goal is to pay off your auto loan and you owe $2,000 on your vehicle. Calculate how much you can comfortably afford to pay each month on top of your minimum payment and take your remaining balance divided by that amount to figure out how long it will take you to hit your goal. 

Its also important to remember that your financial circumstances can change and its okay to adjust your timeline accordingly. 

Keep a close watch on your progress 

Set up time to check in with yourself on a regular basis and track any progress youve made on your goals. Watching the needle move in the right direction can motivate you and keep you accountable to your goals, even if the finish line is still far off. 

Aim to check in on your short-term goals bi-weekly or monthly, and longer-term goals at least once per quarter to ensure that things are moving in the right direction. 

The takeaway 

The financial resolutions you set for yourself now can help set the tone for your financial future. The key to hitting those goals is to set a plan in motion now, even if you have to make changes later. Deciding on a few key goals, determining how those goals fit into your budget, and setting a flexible deadline for yourself can help you hit the ground running in 2023.

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty to criminal charges Tuesday and is set to face a trial in October, which is expected to be one most high-profile white collar fraud trials in recent years.

Bankman-Fried appeared in US District Court in New York wearing a blue suit, white shirt and blue tie, and sitting at the defense table between his lawyers, Mark Cohen and Christian Everdell. US District Judge Lewis Kaplan set a trial date for Oct. 2, after US prosecutors said they expect to produce all evidence for the case in the next four weeks. 

While the plea was not unexpected, it buys the 30-year-old more time, legal experts say. Bankman-Fried will get a better idea on the evidence prosecutors have against him and plan his next move. The plea puts the case on track for a lengthy trial, which could last at least four weeks.Play Video

Bankman-Fried emerged from a black SUV into a crowd of photographers and TV crews Tuesday, ahead of a 2 p.m. hearing in New York. In December, US prosecutors in Manhattan revealed eight criminal counts against him, including wire fraud and campaign finance violations.

All the machinations of getting to trial will start rolling after the arraignment, Andrew Jennings, a law professor and former white collar defense attorney, said. But it doesnt mean the government and Bankman-Fried cant negotiate a plea.

Assistant US Attorney Danielle Sassoon summarized the evidence against Bankman-Fried, noting that from the beginning FTX had a unique relationship with Alameda that allowed it to receive preferential treatment.

Manhattan US Attorney Damian Williams, who is leading the Bankman-Fried case, announced on Tuesday the formation of a task force of senior prosecutors to handle the investigation and prosecuting matters related to the collapse, made up of members of units probing securities and commodities fraud, public corruption, money laundering and transnational criminal enterprises. The task force will use the offices asset forfeiture and cyber capabilities to trace and recover victim assets.

The group will be led by the offices chief counsel Andrea Griswold, who serves as a co-chief of the Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force, and will be supervised by the heads of the securities and commodities fraud unit with consultation by the heads of the public corruption and money laundering and transnational criminal enterprise units.

Jennings, now a professor at Brooklyn Law School, said Bankman-Fried would likely be considering whether he could and should negotiate a plea bargain. In that case, prosecutors may be willing to budge on what sentencing recommendations the time they believe Bankman-Fried should spend in prison they submit to a judge or drop one or more charges.

Even if you have a strong evidential case going to trial, it does carry some risks, Jennings said. If the case is going to take weeks, it does take a very serious commitment of government resources. So the government, in general, is always open to reaching some agreement if it avoids the cost of trial.

Pleading not guilty also opens up discovery channels. Bankman-Fried and his legal team, led by defense attorney Mark S. Cohen, will get a better insight into what evidence prosecutors have, including any exculpatory material.

US Attorney Damian Williams previously revealed the government had spoken to dozens of FTX employees and had tens of thousands of pages of material, including emails, financial statements and Signal messages.

The governments star witnesses are some of Bankman-Frieds closest associates former Alameda Research chief executive Caroline Ellison and FTX chief technology officer Gary Wang. They have pleaded guilty to fraud charges in cooperation agreements carved out with the government while Bankman-Fried was still in the Bahamas.

While negotiating a plea is one thing, Bankman-Frieds overall value as cooperator is somewhat diminished by the fact he is at the top of the FTX hierarchy. 

Even if Bankman-Fried wanted to cooperate, the US Attorneys Office for the Southern District of New York would only agree to do so if he brought substantial value, defense attorney Tim Howard, a former SDNY prosecutor, said. SDNY does not like to cooperate down, and Bankman-Fried is likely at the top of their pyramid, so its unlikely.

Only a fraction of criminal cases in the US end up going to trial. The FTX founder was arrested in the Bahamas on Dec. 12 after US prosecutors filed an indictment accusing him of spearheading a yearslong fraud through the cryptocurrency exchange.

Bankman-Fried fraudulently raised $1.8 billion from investors under the guise of FTX having appropriate controls and risk management measures, authorities allege. FTXs catastrophic collapse in November, and subsequent bankruptcy filing, shattered trust in the cryptocurrency industry. 

He also is accused of misusing customers funds at FTX to cover personal expenses, real estate purchases and trading at Alameda Research, the hedge fund he established in 2017. In media interviews before his arrest, Bankman-Fried conceded being a poor manager with lapses in oversight but denied knowingly committing fraud.

He was extradited to the US last month and released from custody on a $250 million bail package. He is also facing civil action from the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Those cases will likely be paused while the criminal case plays out.

The case is USA v. Bankman-Fried, 22-cr-00673, US District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).

Our new weekly Impact Report newsletter examines how ESG news and trends are shaping the roles and responsibilities of todays executives. Subscribe here.

Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin remains in critical condition after going into cardiac arrest in the first quarter of Monday nights football game against the Cincinnati Bengals. After undergoing CPR on the field, Hamlin was rushed to the hospital, and the game was suspended. 

His heartbeat was restored on the field and he was transferred to the UC Medical Center for further testing and treatment. He is currently sedated and listed in critical condition, the Bills tweeted around 2 a.m. today. 

Its estimated that there are between 100 and 150 sudden cardiac deaths during competitive sports each year, according to research published in the American College of Cardiology. 

In some cases, excessive stress can trigger a rare underlying heart issue that has not been previously detected, or has not been picked up by scans, and can put the heart into a rhythm that is not sustainable for long periods of time, and hence, the patient usually collapses, Dr. Doris Chan, an interventional cardiologist at NYU Langone Hospital, tells Fortune. 

Intense sports could be that trigger.

Cardiac arrest in athletes

When someone goes into cardiac arrest, also referred to as a sudden cardiac arrest, their heart completely stops beatingsometimes all of a sudden like in the case of Hamlin. Cardiac arrest happens when the hearts electrical system malfunctions, according to the American Heart Association, albeit different from a heart attack which happens when a blockage in the heart restricts blood flow. 

A heart attack can cause cardiac arrest but the two are not synonymous. Some people may experience dizziness, fatigue, nausea, chest pain, heart palpitations, loss of consciousness or shortness of breath before going into cardiac arrest, but others may not have any symptoms at all. 

Coronary artery disease is the most common cause of sudden cardiac death in athletes 35 and overfor those younger than 35, underlying congenital cardiac arrhythmias, or an irregular heartbeat, and structural heart disease are common causes of cardiac arrest. 

Still, people can go into cardiac arrest without having any known heart disease diagnosis. Certain drugs or medications, under whats called acquired heart abnormalities, can also trigger cardiac arrest, Chan says. Extensive and continuous testing is critical to uncover any underlying heart conditions that may be at play, Chan says. 

For younger, more physically active individuals who experience a cardiac arrest episode, a structural or genetic heart problem may be present, or a non-heart related event like a trauma may have occurred that caused excessive bleeding. Although, its unclear what happened in the case of Hamlin, who is 24 years old. 

If youre young, then you may have a congenital abnormality of some sort that is so well hidden and has not manifested itself, Chan says. Once you reach a certain threshold of stress and/or trauma, and/or a combination of both, then you have an effect.

An array of heart problems put people at risk for cardiac arrest during exercise, Dr. Alexander Postalian, an interventional and general cardiologist at the Texas Heart Institute, tells Fortune. For example, when diagnosed with a condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, the heart muscle is abnormally thick and exercise can be harmful.

The more you exercise, the more strain is put on the heart muscle, he says. 

Football and heart health

While its become commonplace to see a football player escorted off the field after getting injuredwhether from concussions, dislocations, or sprains, organizations and advocates have been sounding the alarm on the physical dangers of the sport for some time.  

As players, injuries are always our deepest fear But often, you know, we tend to try to remove any of those thoughts the moment we hit the field, Rodney McLeod Jr., the Indianapolis Colts safety told CNN. Weve become very numb to it, unfortunately.

Though much of the discussion around football players and injuries has centered around concussions, what happened with Hamlin begs the question of how the sport can potentially hurt the heart. 

Its rare to go into cardiac arrest from exercise alone, especially in non-competitive exercise. But for people who are concerned about their heart health when exercising, its important to talk to a doctor before completely avoiding activity altogether, Chan says.  

If you have any concerns, definitely approach your primary care physician who can send you to a specialized cardiologist in order to perform any type of screening, she says. But the more important thing is, if youre fearful, or youre concerned, or you actually have symptoms, you need to have that checked out before you start an exercise program on your own, including chest pain, shortness of breath, dizziness, lightheadedness, and passing out. 

For those who exercise or play sports, its also beneficial to understand your genetic history, Postalian says, as the debate around screening and how extensive screening should be for sport athletes is still ongoing. 

Our new weekly Impact Report newsletter examines how ESG news and trends are shaping the roles and responsibilities of todays executives. Subscribe here.

More Articles ...

  1. 'Career portfolioing' isn't just a way to protect yourself from layoffs. It's the new version of climbing the corporate ladder
  2. Tesla's 'Cinderella ride' is over and demand is starting to crack, Wedbush's Dan Ives says. Here's what could come next
  3. I've been a Fed watcher for 40 years and see 2 key political problems for central banks' inflation fight in 2023
  4. How will the ultrawealthy ride out the recession? 1,200 investors worth $130 billion have one big strategyand it's not playing the stock market.
Page 921 of 1160

Newspapers

Spinning loader

Breaking News, data & opinions in business, sports, entertainment, travel, lifestyle, plus much more. IdigNews.com is the leading news source for the internet  users...

           

Business

Entertainment

POST GALLERY