17-Year-Old Baseball Player Suffers Cardiac Arrest Diving Into Base

A 17-year-old baseball player suffered a cardiac emergency during a game.

Kyle Hlucky, a pitcher for the Akron A’s, had a rare opportunity to bat.

“Everyone’s real excited, because Kyle never bats, and he hit the ball. Everyone’s jumping around and cheering and he’s tearing around first base he’s heading into second,” said Coach Scott Koenig of the Akron A’s Play Ball Sports Academy.

“My third base coach told me to stop and I said, ‘No I’m not gonna stop, I’m gonna keep going,’” Hlucky said.

“Hands out, head-first, just slid. I remember getting on all fours, then just fell over.”

Hlucky reportedly collapsed and struggled to breathe.

FOX 8 noted that Hlucky was in good health.

“I put my hand over his heart and I didn’t feel a heartbeat,” said Koenig.

“It just clicked in and he’s having a cardiac situation at that point I started doing compressions.”

'Bonded forever': Coach performs CPR to save Cloverleaf baseball player Kyle Hlucky vis @bobjonesTV @WEWShttps://t.co/NMedOjNxgS

— Akron Children's (@AkronChildrens) January 12, 2023

FOX 8 reported:

After several terrifying minutes of compressions, someone brought over an automated external defibrillator, or AED, successfully reviving Hlucky. Unknown to everyone at the time, the batteries were just replaced a few days earlier.

Hlucky’s collapse was the result of a sudden arrhythmic death. His mother said it was caused by his dive to third base.

“It was commotio cordis, which is the impact at the right interval of the heart cycle that will stop your heart,” said Natalie Hlucky, who was not present at the October baseball game.

The teen and his coach shared their story about the importance of having access to AEDs following the collapse of the NFL’s Damar Hamlin.

Kyle Hlucky, 17, Baseball Player suffers ‘cardiac arrest’ during headfirst slide.

Revived by defibrillator

Diagnosis: commotio cordis

Implantable heart loop placed by surgeonshttps://t.co/taZWVt9PAg

— James Cintolo, RN FN CPT (@healthbyjames) January 13, 2023

Commotio Cordis is the same condition blamed for Damar Hamlin’s sudden cardiac arrest on Monday Night Football.

MNF Halted, “Collapsed On The Field”

My prayers are with Damar Hamlin.

As an arrhythmia specialist, I believe the blow to his chest during a certain period in the cardiac cycle triggered ventricular fibrillation, a condition called Commotio Cordis.

It is not associated with pre-existing heart damage or COVID 💉 pic.twitter.com/dE6Czn0ESZ

— Khalid Aljabri, MD د.خالد الجبري (@JabriMD) January 3, 2023

If they go back to a story-line "commotio cordis" without disclosing his status and cMRI, EPS, genetics, etc--be discerning. I have given my analysis and no test results would rule in that diagnosis. Its out of consideration. #courageousdiscourse pic.twitter.com/IFAcIcsGTb

— Peter A. McCullough, MD, MPH™ (@P_McCulloughMD) January 10, 2023

Dr. Drew on Commotio Cordis pic.twitter.com/qczpFOF15k

— Awake Aggie 🍿 (@AwakeAggie) January 6, 2023