Doctors on Wednesday recommended that young players should wear better neck and chest padding to protect against rare but catastrophic blows that can trigger cardiac arrest or strokes. Dr. Barry Maron of the Minneapolis Heart Institute said he knows of 12 cases over the last 15 years in which young male players died suddenly on the ice after being struck by hockey pucks or fists.
Sports is safe.
But we also need to inform the public about risks, even when they are small. Experts have calculated that overall, about one in 200,000 school-age athletes dies annually from accidents on the playing field. Maron said that he believes many hockey fatalities haven't been reported. Maron, who released his figures at a meeting in New Orleans of the American College of Cardiology, said padding typically worn by young hockey players does not completely cover the neck, and the area over the chest is usually totally exposed. Routine blows to the neck can rupture the arteries that feed the brain, triggering bleeding strokes.