Commotio cordis: sudden death due to chest wall impact in sports
Population
Individuals experiencing sudden death due to chest wall impact in sports (commotio cordis)
Design
Review
Authors
Discussion
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Implication
Likely underreporting obscures commotio cordis burden in sports; leaves open true incidence and supports enhanced surveillance.
Key Points
- Summarize the clinical presentation, estimated incidence, and diagnostic underrecognition of commotio cordis resulting from minor chest wall impacts in sports.
- Reviewed documented literature and case collections of sudden cardiac death following blunt chest wall trauma from the late 1970s through 1998 (N=70 cases).
- Analyzed misclassified sports-related cardiac events, including soccer and cricket incidents, in relation to chest wall impacts and safety equipment.
- Identified 70 recorded cases of commotio cordis, though the true incidence remains substantially underestimated due to misclassification as accidental or idiopathic sudden death.
- Documented blunt chest trauma inducing sudden ventricular fibrillation during athletic activities, with variations between sports attributed to protective chest equipment and diagnostic awareness.
Structured PICO
P
Population
Individuals experiencing sudden death due to chest wall impact in sports (commotio cordis)
O
Outcome
Sudden death or ventricular fibrillationhard clinical
Commotio cordis is an underrecognized and underreported cause of sudden cardiac death in sports resulting from relatively minor chest wall blows.
Limitations
- Likely underestimation of true incidence due to underreporting or misclassification as accidental or idiopathic sudden death
Cite This Study
Mark S. Link (1999) studied this question.