In recent years, Americans have witnessed an alarming increase in young and healthy people suffering cardiac arrest, according to the Cardio Metabolic Institute. The 18-year-old son of NBA superstar LeBron James was rushed to a hospital after collapsing during a basketball workout.
James’ son, Bronny, suffered cardiac arrest while practicing at University of Southern California (USC). Bronny was placed into the intensive care unit to save his life.
Bronny is entering his first year at USC and he is ranked as a top-25 recruit and future NBA prospect by ESPN. A James family spokesperson said, “Yesterday while practicing Bronny James suffered a cardiac arrest. Medical staff was able to treat Bronny and take him to the hospital.”
Bronny James is stable and out of the ICU after suffering a cardiac arrest while practicing at USC on Monday.
More: https://t.co/MYCJuFYNwQ pic.twitter.com/LEcfebPMxj
— ESPN (@espn) July 25, 2023
“He is now in stable condition and no longer in ICU,” the spokesperson continued. “We ask for respect and privacy for the James family and we will update media when there is more information.”
“LeBron and Savannah wish to publicly send their deepest thanks and appreciation to the USC medical and athletic staff for their incredible work and dedication to the safety of their athletes.”
The seriousness of the emergency reached “Code 3,” meaning Bronny was unconscious and required urgent care. A 911 call was made at 9:26 AM Monday from USC’s Galen Center. Bronny was taken by ambulance to the hospital.
Bronny James collapsed on the court during a workout at USC on Monday and suffered a cardiac arrest, according to a statement from the James family.
He is now in stable condition and no longer in the ICU. pic.twitter.com/GK4U4JDcnr
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) July 25, 2023
Well-known sportscaster Clay Travis says he has not seen this many stories about athletes suffering cardiac arrest in twenty years of reporting. Last year at the Air Force Academy, 21-year-old offensive lineman Hunter Brown collapsed and died on his way home from class.
OutKick founder and sports writer Clay Travis commented, “I have been writing and talking about sports for 20 years, nearly. I don’t remember stories like this happening.”
“I don’t remember stories about athletes walking on college campuses and suddenly dropping. But the number of high school, college, even pro-athletes who are suddenly just dropping all around the world seems to be a fairly substantial trend,” Travis added.
The Seattle Times reported that U.S. heart attack deaths jumped sharply among young adults in 2nd year of COVID-19 pandemic.
“The dramatic rise in heart attacks during the pandemic has reversed what was a prior decadelong steady improvement in cardiac deaths,” said Dr. Yee Hui Yeo. “We are still learning the many ways by which COVID-19 affects the body, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity or race.”
“U.S. deaths attributed to heart attacks, or acute myocardial infarctions as they are medically known, shot up 14% to 164,096 in the first year of the pandemic, April 1, 2020, to Mar 31, 2021,” the report found.
“By the second year of the pandemic, the dramatic increases in heart attacks blew apart the models used to predict how many people would lose their lives to these events. Fatal heart attacks among adults ages 25-44 soared 29.9% over what was predicted. Deaths from heart attack climbed by 19.6% for adults ages 45-64 and by 13.7% for ages 65 and older,” the report added.
There are widespread questions and concerns about the impact of COVID-19 as well as the COVID-19 vaccine. The CDC says that myocarditis and pericarditis (inflammation of the outer lining of the heart) appear to be “rare side effects of COVID vaccination, especially prevalent in adolescents and young men.” Despite this concern, the CDC says the vaccine is safe for “the vast majority of people” and that data shows “the low risk of complications from the vaccine is outweighed by the reward.”
