Championship Hearts

Young Athlete

Heart Screening Program

 

(For athletes, marching band members, cheerleaders, mountain bikers – anyone who participates in strenuous activities!)

 

July 31, 2010

8:00 am to 12:00 noon

Heart Hospital of Austin

3801 N. Lamar Blvd.

Austin, Texas   78756

AND:

August 28th, 2010

8:00 am to 12:00 noon

Heart Hospital of Austin

3801 N. Lamar Blvd.

Austin, Texas   78756

 

Championship Hearts Foundation screens young athletes, ages 14-18, for a genetic heart condition, ages 14-18, for a genetic heart condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). This condition, which causes a thickening of the heart wall, typically does not present any symptoms and can lead to obstruction of blood flow and an erratic heartbeat. It is the leading cause of sudden cardiac death in young people and effects roughly 1 in 500.

　

 

The Championship Hearts screening includes a 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) and a limited two-dimensional echocardiogram (picture of the heart). A conventional ECHO in an office with a cardiologist is expensive and usually not covered by most insurance plans. Using a “2-minute” ECHO technique, the screening can be done for a fraction of the cost. This screening is offered at no charge in order to screen all student athletes – including those without insurance.

 

Screenings typically take approximately ten minutes per student and are offered to high school students through Traditional events at major hospitals and through Mobile events at local clinic or physician office settings.

　

 

Students at CHF Young Athlete Heart Screening events also have the opportunity to participate in a research study entitled the Texas Adolescent Athlete Heart Screening Registry (TAAHSR). For this optional research, students and their parents are informed of the data to be collected, have an opportunity to ask questions, and complete appropriate Consent and Assent documents. All data collected for the research is de-identified and the study receives oversight from the Austin Multi-Institutional Review Board.

　

 

Championship Hearts screenings are facilitated by Championship Hearts Foundation with the help of volunteer cardiologists from Austin Heart, Children’s Cardiology Associates, Heart Clinic of Austin, and Heart & Vascular of Central Texas who donate their time for this important program.

 

Parental waivers must be signed in order for the student to be screened. Waivers can be found at www.championshipheartsfoundation.org. Consent forms to participate in research will be available at the screening event.

　

 

Student should wear loose fitting clothing (girls should wear a regular bra and front-opening shirt, one of Dad’s button up shirts would be great)

 

Championship Hearts is a free program. However, a suggested contribution of $25 is appreciated. Championship Hearts Foundation is committed to reducing cardiovascular disease in Central Texas through education, awareness, and life-saving technology. Monies received through this program will fund future screenings and other Foundation projects.

 

Championship Hearts Foundation – www.championshipheartsfoundation.org

9442 Capital of Texas Hwy. N, Arboretum Plaza One, Suite 500

Austin, TX 78759

512-340-7313

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TAAHSR – Texas Adolescent Athletic Heart Screening Registry (TAAHSR)

Championship Hearts Foundation (CHF) is sponsoring this TAAHSR Registry.  This registry is a research study that is examining heart screening results for young athletes.  CHF is providing heart screenings for students ages 14 through 18 years of age to study ways to better detect and understand risks of sudden cardiac death (SCD) from Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM).  There will be about 10,000 participants in this study at several locations in Texas, and about 4,000 in the Austin area.

The purpose of this study is to test athletes for cardiac risk and to use the information gained to create a database known as a registry.  A registry is a collection of medical information.  By placing the information of many participants in a database, researchers may be able to increase knowledge about a condition and improve its prevention in the future.

Championship Hearts Foundation is establishing a registry of results from adolescent limited heart screenings for HCM, one cause of SCD.  Sudden cardiac death (also called sudden arrest) is death resulting from a sudden loss of heart function (when the heart stops beating suddenly – cardiac arrest).  HCM is a genetic heart condition, meaning it is easily inherited from famly members.  The lower left chamber of the heart becomes enlarged and causes the blood flow to be impaired.  These screenings will identify students potentially at risk of SCD due to HCM.

The ongoing submission of data to this registry will assist researchers with identifying possible other conditions related to SCD in young populations such as family cardiac history, gender, ethnicity, and body mass index.  The information collected in this study may provide better standards for the normal range of pediatric electrocardiogram and echocardiogram parameters.

Overall SCD is quite rare in otherwise healthy children.  Many abnormalities of the heart can potentially cause SCD.  HCM is probably the most common cause and may often be detected by echocardiogram (an ultrasound of the heart) and/or electrocardiogram (electrical tracing of the heart rhythm-ECG).  HCM causes excessive thickening of the heart muscle and can potentially lead to sudden cardiac arrest.  As a result, it increases the chance of individuals, like young athletes, dying suddenly and without warning.  Most athletes and their family members, who may also be at risk for this genetic condition, are unaware that they might be at risk until sudden cardiac arrest occurs.

Other significant heart abnormalities that may cause SCD may also be detected using and echocardiogram and ECG.  However, screening does not always detect an abnormality even when it is actually present and not all potentially fatal heart abnormalities can be detected by this screening.

Participants and legal guardians are asked to sign a consent form and complete a TAAHSR Registration/History form.  Participants are not paid to participate in this study.  Should there be a potential abnormality, the parent/guardian of record will be notified by a study team member and instructed to seek a comprehensive evaluation by a pediatric cardiologist.

Researchers reported to the Journal of the American Medical Association that routine electroencephalographs as a part of preparticipation physical exams “could reduce sudden cardiac death in young athletes.”  This statement made after studying sudden deaths in young athletes between the years of 1985 and 1995, they found that 85% of the sudden deaths were caused by some type of heart related abnormality.

Of these abnormalities found, Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM), was the most common disorder.  HCM is a congenital heart disease that causes thickening in the wall of the left ventricle and can lead to electrical problems of the heart and possible arrhythmias. 

The challenge of this disorder is that there often are no signs or symptoms  until an event occurs.  If quality emergency measures are not provided immediately (CPR and AED), the athlete may not recover.

“So, if the athlete has no history of shortness of breath, chest pain, or exertional cardiac symptoms associated with exercise, how can these types of sudden deaths be prevented?”  The article goes on to say that this is a controversial topic in the sports medicine community for a long time especially when media attention focuses on the increase of sudden cardiac deaths in our youth. 

The other study fueling a medical debate is the study performed by Italy over 27 years ago.  The country of Italy mandated the nationwide use of a 12-lead ECG as a part of perparticipation screening  for all athletes.  They followed each participant for 25 years.  Their results showed a 89% reduction in the incidence of sudden cardiac death due to the screening they provided.

So, you might ask, why don’t we have this mandate for ECG’s in our country?  There are pro’s and con’s depending on who you talk to. 

• Cost/logistics
• Limited time,equipment, and personnel
• False positives
• Health insurance coverage
• Other solutions such as AED access

In a perfect world (without financial and personnel limitations), the addition of ECG tests as part of the pre-participation exam would ensure that at-risk athletes would be indentified and referred for advanced cardiac tests. 

No matter how you look at it, ECG’s could reduce the rate of sudden cardiac death in young athletes.

Championship Hearts Foundation offers both an ECG and ECHO at their free heart screenings.  The next heart screening is scheduled on July 31st, 2010 at The Heart Hospital of Austin (3801 N. Lamar Blvd) from 8:00 am to 12:oo noon.

When we hear of sudden cardiac arrest, we rarely think of bulimia.  However, Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy and bulimia can be a deadly combination.  Read this heartbreaking story of “Sara” (4HCM.org) written by her mother, Miv London, PhD, University of Vermont Counseling Center. 

“On August 3, 2006, my daughter, Sara was exercising on the treadmill in the basement of my home, when she collapsed and died of sudden cardiac arrest.  Sara was 19 years old.  She had been diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy at age 12.  She had been under the regular care of a cardiologist, and over the years had displayed neither symptoms nor risk factors for sudden death.  However, Sara did have a risk factor that most likely contributed to her death.  Sara had an eating disorder.  In her early teens, she had restricted her food intake and lost a significant amount of weight.  More disturbing, at age 16, she began to binge and purge.  She struggled on and off with bulimia for the years leading up to her death.  The most common causes of death for anorexics are starvation, cardiac complications, and suicide.  Bulimia is also dangerous, though  far less lethal in the general population.  However, for HCM patients, the greatest danger of bulimia is dehydration due to frequent vomiting, and subsequent electrolyte imbalance, which can lead to life-threatening arrhythmias.  This is likely what caused Sara’s death.”

Resources for education, information, and advice: www.edreferral.com; www.aafp.org; www.helpguide.org

Cardiac Deaths Increase Among the Young

According to the CDC, sudden cardiac death (SCD), typically considered a danger mainly to the middle-aged, showed a 10% increase in persons between the ages of 15 and 34 over the last decade.  AND the SCD death rate increased by 30% in young women.  And alarmingly, death rates were also higher among young African-Americans than whites.  All this was reported at the American Heart Association’s 41st Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention, in San Antonio, Texas. 

CDC Director Jeffrey Koplan, M.D., M.P.H. stated “we can’t fully explain this increase in SCD among young people, particulary women.  Perhaps among other things, poor recognition of heart events in younger patients and delayed application of cardiopulmonary resuscitation or defibrillation may also be contributing to this increase.”

Dr. Koplan goes on to say that “families with a history of early heart disease or sudden cardiac death should talk to their doctors about screening younger family members.”  Early identification of risk and prompt attention when signs of heart distress are recognized could help reduce SCD in peoples ages 15-34, according to the CDC.

To see a full exerpt of this information go to: About.com-US Government Info