Kansas City Chiefs player BJ Thompson is on his way to recovery following his health scare. Per journalist Tom Pelissero, BJ’s agent, Chris Turnage, confirmed that the 25-year-old football player was released from the hospital four days after suffering from cardiac arrest.
“More good news: Four days after suffering a seizure and going into cardiac arrest during a meeting, #Chiefs DL BJ Thompson was released from the hospital tonight, per his agent Chris Turnage,” Tom tweeted on Monday, June 10. “A significant step for Thompson, who continues to progress on the road to recovery.”
Three days prior, Tom updated sports fans that BJ was “awake and responsive.” Earlier that week, the football defensive end suffered from at least one seizure while attending a special teams meeting at the Chiefs’ practice facility on June 6. He was reportedly under cardiac arrest for around one minute, then was sedated and placed under a ventilator at the hospital.
More good news: Four days after suffering a seizure and going into cardiac arrest during a meeting, #Chiefs DL BJ Thompson was released from the hospital tonight, per his agent Chris Turnage. A significant step for Thompson, who continues to progress on the road to recovery. pic.twitter.com/1bk2lscONJ
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) June 11, 2024
Tom confirmed via social media that the football team “canceled all team activities today after a backup defensive lineman had a seizure in a special teams meeting and went into cardiac arrest,” and added, “The team’s medical staff worked quickly, an ambulance was called and the player is currently in stable condition.”
BJ was drafted by the Chiefs in the fifth round of the 2023 NFL Draft. He went on to help the team defeat the San Francisco 49ers at the 2024 Super Bowl.
Apart from BJ, other NFL players have suffered from similar health scares and injuries on the field. Last year, Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed in the middle of a game after tackling another athlete. Paramedics rushed to his side, and he was resuscitated, then transported to a nearby hospital. Damar, 26, was intubated and was able to breathe on his own days after the incident. One week after his collapse, Damar was released from the hospital.
After he recovered, Damar revealed that he experienced an episode of commotio cordis: a rare condition, which, per the Cleveland Clinic, is when “an abnormal heart rhythm and cardiac arrest happen immediately upon an object (usually something small and hard like a baseball or hockey puck) striking the chest directly over the heart at a very critical time during a heartbeat.” The condition can be fatal if the patient is not resuscitated within minutes.