Doctors explain why Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed as support pours in from fans, players

NEW YORK -- Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin remains in critical condition after being injured during Monday night's game against the Cincinnati Bengals. 

It was difficult for players and fans to watch as he lie motionless on the field needing CPR. Now, there's an outpouring of love and support for Hamlin, his family and teammates.

His family released the following statement Tuesday:

"On behalf of our family, we want to express our sincere gratitude for the love and support shown to Damar during this challenging time. We are deeply moved by the prayers, kind words, and donations from fans around the country. 

We also want to acknowledge the dedicated first responders and healthcare professionals at University of Cincinnati Medical Center who have provided exceptional care to Damar. We feel so blessed to be part of the Buffalo Bills organization and to have their support. We also want to thank Coach Taylor and the Bengals for everything they've done. 

Your generosity and compassion mean the world to us.

Please keep Damar in your prayers. We will release updates as soon as we have them."

It looked like a routine tackle at the end of the first quarter. Hamlin got up after the tackle, but then collapsed. 

"Everybody had mixed emotions. They were just wondering what was really going on," fan John Fields Sr. said. "How bad was he hurt? No one really knew at first."

Fans watching the game at the stadium and local bars felt the chilling silence as paramedics rushed to 24-year-old Hamlin's aid. 

The Bills tweeted Hamlin had gone into cardiac arrest. He was given CPR for more than eight minutes before his heartbeat was finally restored.  

He was rushed to University of Cincinnati Medical Center, joined by his mother. He was said to be sedated in critical condition.  

Fans with candles consoled each other outside. 

Bills and Bengals fans united in prayer outside the hospital Tuesday.

Hamlin's uncle Dorrian Glenn says he traveled there from Pittsburgh after watching the gut-wrenching injury on TV.

"It's just heartbreaking seeing him like that," he said. "His little brother was there with us. When he seen his brother drop like that, and when I tell you, I never seen him cry or scream like that. We were trying to calm him down, like, it's OK, he'll get back up, he'll be back in the game."

Glenn says medical staff resuscitated Hamlin once on the field and once after Hamlin arrived at the hospital.

"He's still sedated right now. They just wanted to have a better chance of him recovering better, so they felt if he's sedated, his body can heal a lot faster," he said. "I'm glad he's still alive and able to fight and trying to get better and recover."

"Every minute you delay shocking them, resuscitating them, what happens is there's an increase of 10% of mortality," CBS News Medical Contributor Dr. David Agus explained. 

Agus said blunt force trauma to Hamlin's chest from the helmet of Bengals receiver Tee Higgins may have caused what's called an arrhythmia in the heart -- when not enough blood pumps to the head, leading to his collapse after getting up.  

"The fact that he's not breathing on his own certainly makes me worried, because the sooner you are able to shock him back into a normal rhythm, the sooner you can go back to everything working," Agus said. 

If delayed too long, depriving the brain of oxygen could lead to brain damage, Agus added.

Watch Kristie Keleshian's report

"The best thing that could have happened for him was to have chest compressions right away," said Dr. Ryan Kaple, director of Hackensack Meridian Health's Structural and Congenital Heart Center.

Kaple says what happened was the result of some incredibly bad timing. The tackle that stopped his heart could only happen in a 20-millisecond window.

"It's very unlikely that he had something wrong with his heart to predispose him to having this happen," Kaple said.

Watch Kevin Rincon's report

What happened to Hamlin is described as a rarity with only 10-20 cases a year. He was hit on the center of his left ventricle. Had he been hit anywhere else, this wouldn't have happened.

"If that impact happens during that very specific time, the heart can experience a ventricular arrhythmia and then a sudden cardiac arrest, and that is what we saw last night," said CBS contributor and cardiology specialist Dr. Nidhi Kumar.

Kumar says the survival rate is around 58%.

"It's really about location and timing. It can happen in absolutely healthy hearts, people that have no predisposition to heart disease," she said.

Kaple, too, has never seen anything like this but is optimistic.

"The benefit for Mr. Hamlin is he's very young. At 24, he can sustain more injury to the body and insult to the body," he said.

Watch Kevin Rincon's report

Preparing for something like this is mandatory in the NFL. Every team has to have a plan.

"This is a rare event but when it happens, you have to revert back to your training ... The focus should not be on anything other than the athlete," said Dr. Matthew Martinez, director at Atlantic Health System and consultant for the New York Jets.

He praised the Cincinnati staff for their quick action during Monday night's game. He says in the coming days, we should start to get answers to rather important questions.

"Does he have a problem with his heart? Does he have an electrical issue? Do we know this ahead of time?" he said. "And then over the next couple of days, he'll hopefully wake up and we'll assess brain function and we'll have a better idea of how this is gonna unfold for him long-term."

Watching like many of us was Rich Salgado, who provides insurance for NFL players.

"I've never seen anything like that, and I've been working in the game of football for 30-something years now," he said.

His brother is the safeties coach for the Bills, a unit Hamlin is a key part of. His concern was both for the player and his brother Jimmy.

"I said, 'As long as you're OK. I love you.' He wrote, 'I love you back. I'm good,' and that's where we're at right now," Salgado said.

He says now is a moment to pray for Hamlin's health and wellbeing as a person, and not about the game of football.

"As long as that young man gets up and walks out of that hospital, that is the most important thing. Everything else is irrelevant," Salgado said.

For now, he remains at the intensive care unit at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center as Hamlin's family asks for prayer in this dark hour and continued support, which has been pouring in from across the globe.

The Cincinnati Bengals and Higgins are among the countless sending their well wishes and prayers to Hamlin. 

"He's a very good person," said Terry Totten, who coached Hamlin at Central Catholic High School in Pittsburgh.

He says Hamlin is full of determination and drive, evidenced by his journey from a sixth-round draft pick to a starter on the Bills.

"The feeling this morning, I think, is hope. Certainly prayers go out to his family, but I'm optimistic. I'm hopeful he'll fight through," Totten said.

A GoFundMe page Hamlin started three years ago through his foundation Chasing M's has raised millions of dollars, exceeding its original goal of $2,500.

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