SAN ANTONIO -- A former Reagan High School basketball player is reflecting back on the day he almost lost his life. In 2018, Kaeyel Moore was in the middle of practice when he suffered from sudden cardiac arrest.
- Kaeyel Moore suffered cardiac arrest in 2018, when he was 16
- Later diagnosed with early repolarization syndrome
- Experts say heart disease can affect people at any age
Moments before collapsing on the gym floor, the teen says he felt fine.
"I look down and look at my body. Then I saw the patches on me and I was like confused because I didn't understand what was going on," Moore said.
Kaeyel Moore appears in uniform while playing for Reagan High School. (Kaeyel Moore)
The quick-thinking coaching staff grabbed a defibrillator and got his heart pumping again. His coach then called Moore's mom to notify her.
"[The coach] called to let me know that, never in a million years, would I expect to hear my 16-year-old son went into cardiac arrest," said Lakisha Hamilton-Moore.
Moore spent the next four days in the hospital undergoing tests and surgery. His age, seeming health and lack of heart problems in his family history made his diagnosis tricky for doctors. To be safe, surgeons implanted a defibrillator into the side of his body.
"The treatment nowadays is exactly what he's got. Day after day [the defibrillator] doesn't do anything. It just watches and the one time it's called upon is when you have a rhythm that could kill you," said Dr. Mark Shima, an interventional cardiologist with RiverCity CardioVascular and Mission Trail Baptist Hospital.
Kaeyel Moore is treated at a hospital following cardiac arrest in this image from 2018. (Kaeyel Moore)
While Dr. Shima did not oversee Moore's case, he says sudden cardiac arrests are rare in young people. However, he says, it can happen. A common cause is disorganized electrical activity in the heart.
"The heart goes into a wildly chaotic rhythm that is so wild that it can't effectively pump blood into the heart," he said.
Just this year, doctors diagnosed Moore with early repolarization syndrome, which is a cardiac abnormality. The conclusion finally helped shed some light on what was a dark day in the teen's life.
"I accept it now, because I'm grateful that I'm here to be with my family," Moore said.
Now he is using his second chance at life to tell people about heart health, including younger generations. He volunteers with the local chapter of the American Heart Association, where his mom is employed.
"It's really important to him, making sure people understand and they're out there learning CPR and getting tested," said Moore-Hamilton.
Awareness Dr. Shima says is important in every aspect of cardiovascular health care, especially heart disease.
"You're never too young to ask about heart disease because it is no longer considered an old person's disease. It's more common now at any age," he said.
For now, Moore still credits the fast actions of those around him on that day for his recovery.
"The doctors said if I didn't get the treatment I got so instantly, then I would've been a different story," he said.