Emergency Medicine: Open Access
Open Access

Abstract

Awareness and Attitudes to Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation among Footballers; a Survey in Turkey

Sule Ozbilgin, Bahar Kuvaki, Volkan Hancı, Gamze Ungur, Onur Tutuncu, Merve Koca, Sule Akın and Agah Certug

Introduction: Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) may also affect people making regularly sports with no known heart disease. Coronary atherosclerosis is the most common cause of sudden death in individuals older than 35 years, whereas inherited and structural heart disease predominates in younger athletes. Immediate cardiopulmonary resuscitation and early defibrillation is the treatment of choice for SCA. High success rates can be achieved if this is initiated promptly. The purpose of this study is to determine the awareness and attitudes of football players regarding cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Method: In the 2014-2015 football seasons, football players of professional league in the Aegean region in Turkey were enrolled. A 16-question survey was given to 259 football players. Topics such as previous CPR training and concerns related to CPR were questioned. Results: Fully completed forms of 259 footballers were evaluated. There were 7.7% who stated they had received training in CPR with certificate. 5.9% of them had CPR training within 5 years. The rate who stated they wished to receive this training was 46.3%. The rate who had witnessed SCA during a game was 3.5% and during workout was 3.1%. About one percent of football players (1.2%) stated that they had to perform CPR once. Of participants 17% had never heard of an AED. While 10.4% stated there was a written medical action plan (MAP) for emergency situations in their home stadium, 62.9% were not aware of a plan. Conclusion: Training in CPR and automated external defibrillators among football players is lacking. However, footballers as first responders can be helpful on the field as well as anywhere in the community. The majority of participants stated they were willing to correct and develop their knowledge related to CPR. These results should give warning to authorities to develop a strategy to improve CPR knowledge of football players.