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Commotio cordis (cardiac concussion) is sudden death resulting from blunt impact to the chest--without causing any heart injury. To cause commotio cordis, a blow has to strike the chest at precisely the millisecond between heart contractions. The blow doesn't have to be very hard--in one case, a young boy died after his father poked him in the chest.
Maron's latest study, published in the March 2002 Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), analyzed the 128 confirmed cases of commotio cordis known to date. Most of the cases, tragically, were young boys playing baseball--62% died from being struck in the chest by the ball. None of the kids showed any evidence of heart disease, they were just struck by the ball at the worst possible time. Maron's team also recorded deaths resulting from hockey and football, and yes, from karate.
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Louis J. Acompora Memorial Foundation
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Louis Acompora was killed by commotio cordis on March 25, 2000. After blocking a lacrosse shot with his chest, Louis picked up the ball, took a few steps, then collapsed. He was just 14 years old. Louis' parents, Karen and John Acompora, started the Louis J. Acompora Memorial Foundation to increase understanding of commotio cordis and the need for automatic external defibrillator (AED) devices. AEDs are automated versions of the electric shock pads used in hospitals. Built-in computers diagnose the victim's heart rhythms and instruct the rescuer through voice prompts to apply the shocks. Technology makes the device simple enough where a parent or even a fellow student could save a victim of commotio cordis. To learn more about the Louis J. Acompora Memorial Foundation, visit their Website at http://www.la12.org/. |
An earlier study by Dr. G. Michael Vincent, MD, chairman of the LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City, showed that commotio cordis has been under investigation for quite some time. Dr. Vincent cites an 1879 article by the German physician Dr. Meola, who described the sudden death of one of his patients who expired after being hit in the sternum with a thrown stone.
Is Commotio Cordis the Dim Mak Death Touch?
Could commotio cordis be proof of dim mak? I asked Dr. Michael Kelly, DO, perhaps the only dim mak practitioner who is also a practicing medical doctor.
Next page > Dr. Kelly on Dim Mak > Page 1, 2, 3