Kaiser Permanente Hawaii has paired up with the Hawaii Heart Foundation to launch a new program in Hawaii’s high schools to screen young athletes at risk of sudden cardiac arrest.
The program, called Hawaii Heart Youth Screening, recently kicked off at Moanalua High School where the health-care providers screened around 200 people between the ages of 14 and 22, Kaiser Permanente Hawaii said in a statement.
Sudden cardiac arrest is the leading cause of death in athletes in that age group; every three days, one teenage athlete in the U.S. will suffer from sudden cardiac arrest.
The free screenings include a medical and family history review, physical exam and electrocardiogram — ECG or EKG — to analyze the heart. For those who needed further testing, an ultrasound of the heart was also available.
“At Kaiser Permanente, prevention and early detection are extremely important to us. Parents need to know that many of those affected by sudden cardiac arrest are healthy individuals with no symptoms of heart disease and that a simple, brief screening can prevent SCA,” Dr. Chris Stefanelli, a Kaiser Permanente pediatric cardiologist and the program’s medical director, said in a statement.
The goal is to expand the Hawaii Heart Youth Screening program to other Oahu and Neighbor Island locations beginning in 2014.
http://m.bizjournals.com/pacific/news/2013/11/04/kaiser-permanente-and-…
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