- Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin was put in the prone position, lying on his front, on a ventilator.
- Hamlin, 24, suffered a cardiac arrest when he made a hard tackle during a game on Monday.
Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin was put in the prone position — lying face down — to help him breathe easier in hospital after suffering a cardiac arrest mid-game on Monday.
The 24-year-old's heart stopped beating when he made a hard tackle during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals, and he was given CPR before being taken to the UC Medical Center.
Hamlin was sedated on a ventilator to relieve some of the strain on his lungs as doctors tried to get him to breathe on his own, the player's uncle told CNN.
Dorrian Glenn said his nephew was "flipped over on his stomach" to help with the blood on his lungs.
"It seems like he's trending upwards in a positive way," he said.
When the heart is not beating as it should, it can cause a build-up of fluid in the lungs, which makes it more difficult for doctors to oxygenate the patient, according to CNN's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Flipping the person onto their stomach aids breathing, he said.
It's likely that Hamlin's heart is experiencing "a significant amount" of cardiac dysfunction and is struggling to pump enough blood, Gupta said.
The prone position makes breathing easier by allowing the back of the lungs to expand fully, it can help people cough up more fluid in the lungs, and help oxygen travel through the body, according to Healthline.
Patients are generally put into the prone position for a set number of hours and are closely monitored, before turning them on to their backs (the supine position) for a few hours, according to Healthline.