Sudden cardiac death in amateur football: alarming cases in Brandenburg!

Sudden cardiac death in amateur football: alarming cases in Brandenburg!

In the past seven weeks, two tragic cases of sudden cardiac death have occurred in Brandenburg amateur football. On March 8, 2025, 26-year-old Lucas Albrecht collapsed during a game, but was saved by the quick intervention of referee assistant and assistant coach. Tragically, 36-year-old Ronny Kessel suffered a sudden heart death during a goal celebration on April 26, 2025 and died on the way to the hospital despite attempts to resuscitate. In both cases, there were no defibrillators at the sports facilities in Frankfurt (Oder) and Mildenberg, which underlines the need for better equipment and training in the area of ​​first aid, as reported [RBB24]

Sudden heart death is one of the most common causes of death in the western world. In North America alone, around 350,000 people die from it every year, while the numbers in Europe are up to 300,000 and around 70,000 in Germany. Prof. Dr. Gerhard Hindricks from the University Medical Center Halle emphasizes that many affected people are not aware of their structural heart diseases. He therefore recommends screening methods such as EKG and heart ultrasound to recognize abnormalities at an early stage.

causes and risk factors

Sudden cardiac death can be attributed to different heart disease. The main cause is often chamber fibrillation, a life-threatening disorder of the cardiac arrhythm that leads to a standstill of the cardiovascular system untreated. It is estimated that 70-80% of cases are due to coronary heart disease. These diseases arise from narrowing or closures of coronary arteries, which can affect the blood and oxygen supply to the heart muscle and ultimately leads to heart attacks. Often the heart disease is not known to those affected because it develops unnoticed, according to [Resq-Care].

Important risk factors are: high blood pressure, obesity, tobacco consumption and diabetes. Men are particularly affected, with the risk increasing with increasing age. In addition to coronary heart diseases, other causes such as cardiomyopathies, heart valve diseases and innate heart defects also occur.

meaning of AED devices

In the 2023/24 season, only twelve medical emergencies were registered in the Brandenburg amateur sports leagues during 38,770 games. According to estimates, however, only 10-20% of the sports facilities have an AED device. The Brandenburg (FLB) football association has used the latest incidents to raise awareness of the need for AED devices and for the training of first aiders. Prof. Dr. Hindricks emphasizes that regular training for trainers and athletes are decisive in order to increase the probability of survival in an emergency.

A day of action for training trainers in dealing with AED devices and first aid is planned for the end of June/early July. This initiative is expected to increase defibrillators and to shorten the response times in an emergency.

In Germany, cardiovascular diseases are one of the most common causes of death that made up more than a third of all deaths in 2022. It is important that people with increased risk of heart disease integrate regular medical check -ups into their everyday life in order to protect their health, as [Statista] emphasizes.