The No. 4 tennis player in the world, Jessica Pegula, released a post revealing that her mother, Kim Pegula who co-owns the Buffalo Bills and Sabres with her husband Terry Pegula, suffered from cardiac arrest last June. Kim Pegula’s condition had been kept very private since the teams noted that she had experienced an “unexpected illness.” The secrecy and vague information led to much speculation and rumors, including that she had died. “While understanding her family’s desire for privacy, the media’s job is to pursue any information it can get about her condition because her health could affect the future of both the Bills and the Sabres at a time when millions of taxpayer dollars will be used to build a new stadium for the Bills in Orchard Park,” Alan Pergament wrote for the Buffalo News as rumors abounded. 

Jessica Pegula revealed that her mother had suffered from cardiac arrest at home and that Pegula’s sister, Kelly, performed CPR. “My sister gave her CPR until the ambulance arrived. She saved her life. Even though she doesn’t like to take credit for this terrible situation, she absolutely saved her life, followed by the critical job performed by the paramedics who arrived and were able to restore a heartbeat,” Pegula wrote. Kelly had received her CPR certification just three months prior to the incident. “I remember [Kelly] telling us what she was doing in our family group chat, and my mom even responded, ‘Nice Kells! Now if we have a heart attack, you can revive us,’” Pegula recalled. After outlining the tension and stress that came from her mother’s health issues, the family needing to fill in for her many business responsibilities, and Jessica’s tennis career, the tennis star said her mother is improving but still in recovery. “She is dealing with significant expressive aphasia and significant memory issues. She can read, write, and understand pretty well, but she has trouble finding the words to respond,” she wrote. “It is hard to deal with, and it takes a lot of patience to communicate with her, but I thank God every day that we can still communicate with her at all.” She admitted her mother will more than likely not be able to return to her previous responsibilities. 

According to Pegula, Damar Hamlin’s cardiac arrest during Monday Night Football spurred her to share her experience. Like Kim Pegula, Hamlin received CPR, which is credited for saving his life. The NFL announced it will be spending the week before the Super Bowl promoting CPR education in Arizona in honor of Hamlin. “We embrace our responsibility to ensure that (CPR) knowledge is in as many hands as possible for the greatest positive impact,” said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.

The rise in cardiac issues in the United States has drawn a lot of notice, formulating a number of theories. A data analysis from Smidt Heart Institute found an uptick in heart attacks during the COVID-19 pandemic. The biggest increase was found in adults aged 25-44, a group not normally subject to heart issues. The first author of the study, Yee Hui Yeo, suggested that some of the possible causes of the rise could be that COVID-19 was triggering preexisting coronary artery disease or that psychological and social challenges contributed to stress, which could lead to the increase of cardiac disease. The effects of the shutdown on physical and mental health continue to show numerous ways that Americans’ health was impacted. 

Another study published on the National Library of Medicine looked at possible connections between COVID-19 vaccinations and increased cardiopulmonary arrest. The study noted the link between the mRNA vaccines and myocarditis and looked at the case of a 59-year-old man with no prior history of the cardiopulmonary disease who suffered cardiopulmonary arrest after receiving a booster. The study concluded that it needed more data but that it did appear that “We believe the cardiac arrest was most likely secondary to the COVID-19 booster vaccination. This is a diagnosis of exclusion, and after excluding all the potential causes of the cardiopulmonary arrest, the COVID-19 mRNA booster dose was the reasonable cause for the patient’s condition.” There have been growing tensions between those who claim the vaccination is causing sudden deaths and those who criticize the claims as “misinformation” or a conspiracy theory. The study also noted that early initiation of CPR could increase survival outcomes.