New HISD Program Gets to the Heart of Athlete Health
This article has been updated to reflect the HISD Board of Education's approval of this plan on April 9, 2009.
Sixth-grade students at five HISD middle schools will begin receiving free cardiovascular testing and screening as early as next month, after the Board of Education approved the new Houston Early-Age Risk Testing and Screening (HEARTS) program.
The HEARTS program will provide cardiovascular screening to 1,500 sixth-grade students at HISD’s Luther Burbank, Lamar Fleming, James Hogg, Francis Scott Key, and Jane Long Middle Schools. Trained and licensed healthcare workers from the University of Texas Medical School at Houston Division of Cardiology and the Memorial Hermann Sports Medicine Institute will administer a cardiac physical examination, an electrocardiogram (EKG), and a echocardiogram (2-D echo).
“Students who participate will receive a free physical examination and specialized cardiac examinations and any follow-up that’s needed at no cost to students and families,” said HISD’s Health and Medical Services Director Evelyn Henry. “We want to provide early screening and help save lives.”
Statistics show that one in 50 to one in 100 young children have an undiagnosed heart condition. According to the American Heart Association, the “vast majority of young athletes who die suddenly of cardiovascular disease do so during sports training or competition, and a relationship has been drawn between intense physical activity and arrhythmia-based sudden death.” The American Heart Association also found that these deaths occur most commonly in high-intensity sports like basketball and football.
In August 2008, a tenth-grade football player suddenly collapsed on the field during a stretching exercise at HISD’s Mirabeau Lamar High School. Campus officials used the school’s defibrillator to help revive the student. Lamar, like all HISD schools, is equipped with automatic heart defibrillators.
“Having trained coaches along with the necessary defibrillator equipment is very essential to the safety and welfare of our student athletes,” said HISD’s Athletic Director Daryl Wade. “But the more prepared we are, the better. Heart attacks are silent killers in most situations, so having students screened for heart disease is another step to prevent a tragedy.”
The initial schools were selected because of their participation with the Houston Rockets and the Memorial Hermann Hospital System. Parents’ authorization will be required for students to participate.
