Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin reached a remarkable milestone when he was cleared by doctors and his NFL team to return to the field less than four months after he went into cardiac arrest and nearly died in the middle of a game.
Hamlin, 25, shared in a press conference on April 18 that three specialists and the team's general manager gave the green light for him to return to football as the Bills' voluntary offseason workout program gets underway. The team also shared a video of him smiling while participating in drills and exercises with his teammates.
"This event was life-changing, but it’s not the end of my story," Hamlin said. "So I’m here to announce that I plan on making a comeback to the NFL."
Team officials and Hamlin said the specialists agree he suffered from the rare condition commotio cordis when he collapsed on the field during a January game against the Cincinnati Bengals after making a tackle.
“They’re all in lockstep of what this was and that he is cleared to resume full activities, just like anyone else who was coming back from an injury,” Bills general manager Brandon Beane said in a press conference. “He’s in a great headspace to come back and make his return.”
Commotio cordis occurs when a person gets hit in the chest with a certain amount of force at a very specific time in the heart cycle, when the electricity is flowing from one side of the heart to the other. Hamlin was hit in the chest by another player while making a tackle and went into cardiac arrest.
Now that he is cleared to return, experts and the three specialists Hamlin met with prior to being cleared to play say he's at no greater risk of injury today than he was before the incident.
"I’m not surprised that he’s going to be playing again, and I don’t see any reason why he couldn’t go back to playing football," Dr. Gordon Tomaselli, a cardiologist at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, told NBC News correspondent Kaylee Hartung on TODAY on April 19.
Commotio cordis is extremely rare, with fewer than 10 new cases a year, and is not linked to any underlying cardiac issues or heart disease, according to the American Heart Association. There are no specific risk factors for the condition and no evidence that survivors of it are at a higher risk of other heart issues, according to the AHA.
Hamlin is also not the first professional athlete to return to his sport after suffering from commotio cordis.
Hockey Hall of Famer Chris Pronger was playing for the St. Louis Blues in the 1998 NHL playoffs when he was struck by a puck in the chest while blocking a slapshot by the Detroit Red Wings. He collapsed on the ice. Pronger returned to the ice two days later and played another 13 seasons.
Hamlin acknowledged that his decision to return may be questioned by those worried about another incident with his heart.
"Some people might say that coming back to play might not be the best option, but that’s their opinion," he said at the press conference. "And like I said, I’ve been beating statistics my whole life. So I like my chances here."
He noted that commotio cordis is one of the leading causes of death in youth athletes across all sports. Hamlin plans to bring awareness to the importance of CPR training and access to defibrillators, which helped save his life.