HEARTS Act supported by Bills’ Damar Hamlin unanimously passes in U.S. Senate, heads to president’s desk

The United States Senate unanimously voted Tuesday to pass the HEARTS Act, a bill supported by Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin that will provide grants to schools to support the purchase of automated external defibrillators, CPR and AED training, and the development of cardiac emergency response plans. The Cardiomyopathy Health Education, Awareness, Research and Training in Schools (HEARTS) Act, a bipartisan bill spearheaded by Hamlin and New York state Senator Chuck Schumer, will now only need to be signed by President Joe Biden to become law.

In January 2023, Hamlin had made a routine tackle during a “Monday Night Football” game between the Bills and Cincinnati Bengals when he went into sudden cardiac arrest on the field, with the medical episode leaving him in critical condition as the game was suspended and ultimately never resumed. Hamlin’s life was saved by the response of team athletic trainers and other first responders, and he has since made a full recovery and is now a starter in Buffalo.

Ever since his near-fatal incident, Hamlin has dedicated significant time promoting efforts on the importance of learning CPR and having accessible AEDs in different communities. The HEARTS ACT would create a grant program at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to support such efforts in elementary and secondary schools.

“I believe that every single one of them deserve the same kind of care that I had,” Hamlin said Monday at an event announcing plans to bring the bill to the Senate floor, per ESPN. “As far as kids growing up who want to chase their dreams and want to pursue anything that they want to do. And we have a chance to be impacting the next generation. We got a chance to make history.”

The bill has been supported by the Buffalo Bills as well as the NFL, the latter of which created The Smart Health Sports Coalition following Hamlin’s incident. The coalition has advocated for policies in all 50 states to help prevent deaths from sudden cardiac arrest.