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High school students and parents should know: the typical school sports physical may fall short in assessing heart health. Because sudden cardiac arrest is the leading cause of death in young athletes, Beaumont Health cardiologists and partner 97.1 The Ticket offer free “Student Heart Check” screenings to area high school students. The next Student Heart Check screening is at Harper Woods High School, 20225 Beaconsfield St., Harper Woods on October 8 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The free student heart screening takes about an hour and will include a medical history, blood pressure check, an electrocardiogram or ECG, and a “quick-look” echocardiogram, an ultrasound image of the heart. Visit www.beaumont.org/student-heart-check to register. Although there is no charge to participate, registration is required. Beaumont created the Student Heart Check screening program in May 2007. Since then, Beaumont has screened 13,672 Michigan high school students. Of those students, 176 were told to stop sports and follow up with a cardiologist due to heart abnormalities and seven were diagnosed with HCM. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is the single most common cause of death among U.S. athletes. Nearly 4,000 of these deaths are among young people, and one in 200,000 high school athletes will die suddenly, most without any prior symptoms. In addition, male athletes are 10 times more likely to die suddenly as a result of HCM. As students go through the screening, Beaumont will offer CPR/automated external defibrillator education and training for students and their parents. Experts say knowing how to operate an AED or perform CPR are essential skills that everyone should learn.
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