HEARTFELT CARDIAC PROJECTS CARDIAC SCREENING EVENT
12/15/2012
St. Margaret’s Episcopal School
9:00 a.m. – 5:00
Pasternack Field House
31641 La Novie Avenue, San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675
Screening includes Electrocardiogram (EKG) & Echocardiogram (ECHO)
Cost: $85.00 (Tax Deductible)
Ages: 5 yrs. old and older
CLICK HERE TO SCHEDULE SCREENING
~~~
Heartfelt Screening at St Margarets Flier
~~~
READ THE ARTICLE BY ST. MARGARET’S
On Saturday, December 15, St. Margaret’s will hold its third elective heart screening event from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. in the Pasternack Field House. Last year, in conjunction with the non-profit Heartfelt Cardiac Projects, St. Margaret’s held two similar screening days which were attended by more 400 students, employees and parents. Thanks to these two initial screenings, two student lives were potentially saved and more 25 others were referred to physicians for further evaluation. You can read more at http://heartfeltcardiacprojects.org/ryan-ohare/ and http://heartfeltcardiacprojects.org/zack/. While both events were successful in terms of attendance alone, the fact that the screenings probably saved and definitely improved lives (young and old) has motivated us to schedule a third screening, open to the entire St. Margaret’s Episcopal School community.
The screening process itself is simple, low cost and carries no health risks. Holly Morrell, founder of Heartfelt Cardiac Projects, and her team will bring all of the equipment necessary to perform voluntary EKG’s and Echocardiograms (a short, painless, ultrasound of the heart, with no side effects). She also provides certified EKG and Echo technologists. After filling out a simple health questionnaire, participants receive their EKG and Echocardiogram, which take approximately 15-20 minutes. Results are read by a cardiologist/electrophysiologist and mailed back to participants within 30 days. Participants who may require further evaluation will be referred to an appropriate physician. The cost is $85 per person, which is a tax deductible donation to Heartfelt Cardiac Projects.
For those less familiar with the history of cardiac screening at St. Margaret’s, the effort stems from the rash of high profile deaths among young, apparently healthy athletes from all across the nation, in a variety of sports. These tragic incidents have raised awareness and have demonstrated a need for a more rigorous cardiac screening for young athletes and young people in general. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, deaths from sudden cardiac arrest have increased 10 percent (from 2,719 in 1989 to 3,000 in 1996) in people between the ages of 15 and 34. Efforts to screen for some of the major contributors to sudden cardiac arrest have been hampered by inadequate funding, the high cost of screening and lack of qualified screeners.
Thanks to the continued support of Headmaster Marcus D. Hurlbut, Athletic Director Susie Maga and Head Football Coach Rod Baltau, St. Margaret’s is a leader in youth cardiac screening. Erin Newman Armstrong (Class of 1998), a cardiac ICU nurse at Mission Hospital and wife of a sudden cardiac arrest survivor, will again assist Holly Morrell’s team. Holly founded Heartfelt Cardiac Projects to help save lives through early detection, education and increased public awareness of sudden cardiac arrest, and has 11 years of experience screening student athletes nationwide. After losing six family members to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, the number one cause of sudden cardiac arrest in young people in the U.S., Holly was also diagnosed with the condition in 2002.
The goal of these screenings is to educate students, parents, faculty and staff not only about their own cardiac health but also about CPR and the use of automatic external defibrillators (AEDs). So far, this coordinated approach has not only helped to improve the lives of two of our students but also a soccer referee who was revived with an AED thanks to Trainer David Tomlinson and Coach Mel Taylor. Our sincere hope is to prevent similar episodes in our community and to teach people to respond quickly and effectively if they do.
The December screening is open to any student (over 5 years old), parent, faculty or staff member. Please visit “schedule a screening” at www.heartfeltcardiacprojects.org.
Sincerely,
S. Todd Newman, M.D. (Class of 1991)
Vice Chairman, Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine
Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian
St. Margaret’s Varsity Football Team Physician
For more information about our screener, Holly Morrell, visit http://heartfeltcardiacprojects.org/who-we-are/ or contact Dr. Newman at Snewman25911@yahoo.com. For more information on why we are doing this, please watch this video from Parent Heart Watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ww96dEBDVP8&feature=youtube_gdata_player.
HEARTFELT CARDIAC PROJECTS 