Commotio cordis

Etiology

• blunt trauma to the chest

Epidemiology

• rare
• tends to occur in young males 15-16 years of age

Pathology

• cardiac arrest after a blunt force trauma to the chest
• an object, usually a ball, hits the chest during a vulnerable cycle of the heart resulting in electrical instability & ventricular fibrillation

Management

• cardiopulmonary resuscitation with defibrillation as indicated

More general terms

• trauma
• heart disease (cardiac disease)