Volleyball Player Faints on Live TV

You're right regarding being tested. That's why I hope this volleyball player was checked out, even if a Medic at the beach or EMT with an ambulance service they should have strongly recommended her for screening. It could be cardiac, maybe neurologically, or she could be anemic and yes, just over stressed but it's better to find out and prevent problems than suddenly die from a preventable death.

Maggie Dixon, the successful, 28 year-old women’s basketball coach for the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, died suddenly in April 2006 when she collapsed after visiting a friend for afternoon tea (see http://sports.espn.go.com/ncw/news/story?id=2400335). The autopsy found an enlarged heart, due to an undiagnosed heart condition. She apparently was previously unaware of it. According to SADS (Sudden Arrhythmia Death Syndrome, www.sads.org, an organization supporting cardiac research) and CARE (Cardiac Arrhythmias Research and Education Foundation, www.longqt.org), over 3,000 young people under 30 die suddenly from these types of arrhythmias. They often run in families, and some can now be diagnosed by DNA testing (such as for Long QT syndrome, which affects my relatives). From the news clip, the announcers may not know what they were witnessing, and there is a tendency to dismiss sudden fainting as not a big deal. On the other hand, the consequences of not checking it out are potentially serious. Nikki Allen may be lucky, as she may just have gotten an urgent wake-up call, and she should get to a cardiac specialist right away. Doctors could even implant an ICD (automatic defibrillator) to protect her heart if they judge her risk of a sudden cardiac arrest is high enough and there is no other way to fix it with simpler methods. If a problem is identified, other close relatives may also need to be tested, and this can sometimes save multiple lives. Similar stories also happened with Kayla Burt (University of Washington women’s basketball player) and her former coach, June Daugherty (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/basketball/ncaa/12/07/doughtery.boyko/inde...). If Nikki doesn’t get a thorough cardiac follow-up just to be safe, her family and friends may regret it someday.

i love that he has to say she fainted and throw it back to the studio. instead of reacting...she is clearly out on the ground!

It was bound to happen when everything has to be broadcast live now.

Neither one of the guys reacted very well. She sounded ill by her voice. Hope she got some help and is feeling better.

She was obviously sick. I wonder if she had a fever. Poor thing.

i think the guy who just looked at her as she fell is just the kinda guy you want around when you have a crisis.
A real Darwin award winner if you know what i mean

Not everyone is a public speaker...