For Central Texas student athletes, keeping tabs on their heart health is a must. Especially since over the last few years there have been fatalities due to sudden cardiac arrest. One student was practicing for a national band competition, and another was playing soccer when sudden cardiac arrest claimed their lives. Both were caused by Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, a serious heart condition that rarely has any noticeable symptoms. And it’s the leading cause of sudden cardiac death in young athletes.

In Garland, Texas, a few hundred students were recently selected to get a free heart screening. An article in the Dallas Morning News talks about this, and how Garland ISD is the only school district in the Dallas area participating in a state study that’s trying to determine whether EKGs and echocardiograms should be mandatory for Texas students. This study, which was allocated $1 million by the Legislature — will show how many students could have heart problems that have been undiagnosed. The Children’s Medical Center Dallas will be conducting this study.

Screening student athletes for heart problems is a great step towards saving lives. Since Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy strikes suddenly and rarely has identifiable symptoms, it’s essential for young athletes, who are susceptible to suffering sudden cardiac arrest because of the stress put on the heart during strenuous activity, to be screened. Screening high school students is ideal, since the disease shows up in adolescence.

According to the article, over a dozen of the Garland ISD students who participate in the study will be notified that they should follow up with a doctor. That’s out of 237 total students screened.

At Championship Hearts Foundation, we’re committed to reducing cardiovascular disease in Central Texas by promoting education, awareness and life-saving technology. By offering free student heart screenings to Central Texas student athletes, cheerleaders, band members, and any students involved in strenuous activities, we’re working hard to prevent any more deaths from Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy.