Emergency Preparedness for Sudden Cardiac Arrest in Amateur Athletic Union Basketball Teams: An Opportunity to Improve Outcomes in Higher Risk Athletes

OBJECTIVE: To examine sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) awareness and emergency preparedness for SCA in Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) youth basketball teams. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey of AAU coaches and administrators. SETTING: Random sampling of AAU club teams across the United States. PARTICIPANTS: AAU club coaches and/or administrators. INTERVENTIONS: Electronic survey (Qualtrics) accessed online and by cell phone. Each coach/administrator was invited to participate via email up to 3 times, spaced approximately 5 days apart. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Established and practiced emergency action plan (EAP), cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training, and automated external defibrillator (AED) access. RESULTS: A total of 53/449 (12%) respondents completed the survey. Only 6% of responding AAU clubs had a written EAP and practiced it on an annual basis. Only 35% of clubs required CPR training for their coaches. Automated external defibrillator were available at practices and games in only 45% and 35% of AAU clubs, respectively. Over 50% of clubs did not have an affiliated athletic trainer or medical director. CONCLUSION: The vast majority of AAU clubs in this study lack proper emergency preparedness for SCA. Given male basketball players are at highest risk of SCA compared with other young athlete populations, urgent interventions are needed to improve awareness, standardize training, establish EAPs, and ensure access to AEDs in AAU clubs.