Heart Disease Programs

Heart disease programs at Championship Hearts Foundation are part of our mission to reduce cardiovascular disease in Central Texas by promoting education, awareness and life-saving technology.

Free Student Heart Screening

Championship Hearts' free student heart screening is available to Central Texas student athletes, cyclists, cheerleaders, and any other student participating in strenuous activities. The free student heart screening is just that: free. And its purpose is to prevent deaths from Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, also known as HCM. Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy is a serious heart condition that is the leading cause of sudden cardiac death in young athletes. Rarely having any identifiable symptoms, HCM affects approximately 1 in 500 student athletes. Championship Hearts Foundation has conducted over 10,000 free student heart screenings since it's beginning.

Heart Screening Registry

Championship Hearts Foundation believes the results of these heart screenings should be monitored in a registry entitled Texas Adolescent Athlete Heart Screening Registry (TAAHSR).  All data collected for TAAHSR will be de-identified to reduce the risk of loss of confidentiality and will be included only with participant's permission.  Data to be collected include: brief medical/family history; ethnicity, sex, sports of participation; height/weight, results of 2-D echo and EKG; and results of any potential follow up care.  Such data will possible benefit others with abnormal heart conditions in the future.

AED Awareness and Education

Keeping the Beat, which is AED (automated external defibrillator) awareness and education, is another one of the heart disease programs at Championship Hearts Foundation. Keeping the Beat aims to demonstrate to Central Texans that AEDs are safe and easy to use — and, most importantly, they save lives. Since many people are too afraid to use AEDs, this heart disease program helps encourage people to use them by offering demonstrations and hands-on training. Thanks to Keeping the Beat, about 2,000 students and their parents will be able to witness an AED demonstration and attempt a hands-on resuscitation simulation this year.

Austin Medical Explorer Post

The Austin Medical Explorer Post is something Championship Hearts Foundation is very proud to sponsor. This heart disease program introduces high school students to careers in medicine. To do this, the program uses the three "S"s:

• See medicine in action: Students visit a neonatal unit, watch orthopedic surgery, ride on an ambulance, and shadow a doctor.
• Learn skillls: Students learn First Aid, AED, CPR, aid for common orthopedic injuries, and vital signs.
• Perform service to the community: Students participate in Keeping the Beat.