Aurora, IL –

A teenage basketball player who collapsed during an AAU tournament in Aurora, Illinois has become an advocate for sudden cardiac arrest awareness after he nearly died from, am SCA.

Carter Zahn was playing in a basketball tournament on July 19, 2024, when he suddenly collapsed on the court. Zahn had suffered a sudden cardiac arrest (SCA), a condition where the heart unexpectedly stops beating. Quick action by a teammate’s mother, who immediately began CPR while others located an automated external defibrillator (AED) and called emergency services, proved critical in saving the young athlete’s life.

“It didn’t seem real, we kept yelling, ‘Carter, open your eyes, you got this buddy, come on,’ and he wasn’t responding,” Carter’s father, Jeremy Zahn, recounted.

Emergency medical services initially transported Zahn to RUSH Copley Medical Center in Aurora before he was airlifted to Lurie Children’s Hospital in downtown Chicago for specialized pediatric care. Zahn remained unconscious for several days, with his first memory being from day five in the Cardiac Care Unit (CCU).

Upon regaining consciousness, Zahn was initially confused and unable to speak due to intubation. He communicated by writing questions, repeatedly asking about his whereabouts as he drifted in and out of sleep. During his recovery, Zahn’s brothers visited, and they watched the Olympics together as a distraction during his hospital stay.

Despite his condition, Zahn’s doctors noted his remarkably quick physical recovery. He began walking around the hospital with his physical therapist and nurse, even using the exercise room to practice basketball dribbling, though he was surprised by his weakness and shortness of breath.

After nine days in the hospital, Zahn was discharged, but his recovery journey continued. Three months after the incident, he was still working to regain his strength and energy. His treatment included the implantation of a subcutaneous implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (S-ICD), a small device that treats life-threatening heart rhythms, along with ongoing physical therapy.

Carter and his family.

“There really are not enough adjectives to describe the care team at Lurie Children’s,” said Cathy Zahn, Carter’s mother. “Having no experience with pediatric care and being in a trauma situation, we had no expectations, and we were at the mercy of [Carter’s] providers. We can say with complete confidence that we were in the best care we could have asked for.”

Particularly striking about Zahn’s case is that he had no prior health concerns or problems. He had been a healthy, athletic teenager his entire life with no underlying conditions. While the exact cause of his sudden cardiac arrest remains unclear, medical professionals attribute his survival to the immediate CPR and AED use by responders.

The experience has transformed Zahn into an advocate for SCA awareness, particularly among young athletes. He now promotes widespread CPR training and the importance of having AEDs available at all sporting facilities.

“We did not take heart health seriously in the past,” Cathy Zahn admitted. “We were not CPR trained (we are now!), and we were not aware of where AEDs were or weren’t – we were sort of oblivious.”

The Zahn family now encourages others to get CPR trained, promote AED access in workplaces and athletic centers, and inquire about heart screenings. They emphasize that a sudden cardiac arrest can happen to anyone, with little or no warning.

According to health experts, when sudden cardiac arrest occurs outside of a medical setting, survival rates average about 10 percent. However, immediate CPR and access to an AED can double or triple those chances. Zahn’s story serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of emergency preparedness and cardiac health awareness.