Unofficial translation. The Spanish version is the official one and prevails in case of discrepancy.
Five key points
- Time saves lives, not the number of ambulances. The metric is how long it takes for a defibrillator to arrive.
- Motorcycles with AED as first response. Advanced life support ambulances stabilize and transport.
- Two levels. An achievable mandatory minimum and a recommended level aligned with the regional position statement.
- Every event is different. An urban marathon is not the same as an open-sea crossing or a race on Volcán Barú.
- Verified references. All 37 sources were checked one by one.
Verified figures
| Data | Source |
|---|---|
| Cardiac arrest in marathons: 1.01 per 100,000 participants; 71% of arrests in long-distance races were fatal | Kim et al., N Engl J Med 2012 [3] |
| With CPR <1 min and AED <3 min, 95.5% full neurological recovery | Tanaka et al., Br J Sports Med 2022 [4] |
| 93% of sports-related sudden deaths were witnessed, but bystander CPR was started in only 30.7% | Marijon et al., Circulation 2011 [5] |
| Heat stroke treated with cold-water immersion: 100% survival in 454 cases | Stearns et al., J Athl Train 2024 [20] |
| Trail races in Brazil: 4.5% of athletes required care; 66% due to systemic illness | Berindoague et al., J Sci Med Sport 2026 [25] |
Quotable statements
"The safety of an event is not measured by the number of ambulances, but by the time it takes for a defibrillator to reach any point on the course."
"No athlete should die for lack of a defibrillator that arrived too late, a trained rescuer, or an emergency plan that was never written."
"In heat stroke, you cool first and transport second."
Document details
| Title | Medical Recommendation for Sports Events in Panama — Latin American Edition |
| Institution | Sociedad Panameña de Medicina Deportiva (SPMD) |
| Authors | Dr. Mauricio Beitia Kraemer · Dr. Antonio Araúz Arkadievich · Dr. Mario Boyd Higuera |
| Version | 2.0 · September 29, 2026 (first edition: January 1, 2025) |
| DOI | 10.5281/zenodo.23044361 |
| License | Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International |
| Contact | medsportpanama.com/contacto |