Cardiac Arrest in Basketball

College basketball’s heart-pounding sprints and clutch moments captivate fans, but for a rare few players, that pounding stops—literally. Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) strikes 1 in 50,000 collegiate athletes annually, per a 2023 *Circulation* study, with basketball leading all sports at 1 in 11,000 due to its relentless pace. High-profile tragedies—like the 2021 collapse of a Division I player during practice—have sparked a safety overhaul, and in 2025, new protocols and tech are proving they can save lives on the hardwood.

The stats are sobering. The NCAA Injury Surveillance Program logged 14 SCA incidents in men’s and women’s basketball from 2015 to 2023, with 60% fatal without immediate intervention. A 2022 *Journal of the American College of Cardiology* report found African American male players, who dominate rosters (55% of D-I men, per NCAA demographics), face a 3.2-times-higher risk, often tied to undetected hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). That’s pushed awareness skyward—85% of D-I schools now mandate pre-season ECG screenings, up from 50% in 2018, per a 2024 NATA survey.

Defibrillators are the game-changer. Automated external defibrillators (AEDs), which deliver a shock to restart the heart, cut SCA mortality from 90% to 10% if used within 3 minutes, per a 2021 *British Journal of Sports Medicine* study. The NCAA required AEDs at all game venues by 2022, and 95% of practices now have one within 100 yards, per 2024 NCAA data. At Gonzaga, where a player survived SCA in 2023 thanks to a courtside AED, coaches say it’s “like having a guardian angel.” Training’s ramped up, too—80% of athletic staff are CPR-certified, up from 60% in 2020.

Screening’s contentious but growing. A 2023 *American Heart Association* study showed ECGs catch 90% of HCM cases missed by physicals alone, yet cost ($100–$150 per test) and false positives (5% rate) deter universal adoption—only 30% of D-II and D-III schools screen, per NATA. Critics argue it’s overkill; proponents point to the 2 lives saved at UConn since 2021. Tech like KardiaMobile’s portable ECG, trialed at Duke in 2024, could bridge the gap, slashing costs to $50 per player with 88% accuracy.

Response time’s the X-factor. At Maryland, a 2023 SCA drill got an AED on a downed player in 68 seconds—well under the 3-minute gold standard—thanks to a “code blue” protocol now standard in 70% of Power 5 schools. The payoff? NCAA SCA deaths dropped from 3 in 2021 to 1 in 2024. Still, gaps loom—20% of small programs lack AEDs at practice, and rural venues lag. But with survival rates up 40% since 2015, per *Circulation*, college hoops is proving SCA doesn’t have to be a death sentence. By 2029, expect wearable heart monitors to spot risks mid-game.