Why Knowing What We Don’t Know Can Save Lives
It’s funny, isn’t it? We schedule maintenance checks to look under the hood of the car. Once or twice a year we get our furnace and air conditioners checked. We go to the dentist (or at least we know we should) like clockwork.
But have you ever had a heart screening?
Maybe you’ve never thought about it. That is why we now have National Youth Heart Screening Day, brought to you by Parent Heart Watch and 24 member organizations. This day of awareness is aimed at highlighting a critical but often overlooked issue—youth heart health.
The Purpose of National Youth Heart Screening Day
The first-ever National Youth Heart Screening Day is scheduled for February 1, 2025. It should serve as a reminder of the hidden dangers that young people may face due to undetected heart conditions. Organizers also hope to raise awareness and education so people everywhere know how to recognize and respond to cardiac emergencies, and how to use Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) to increase the chance of survival.
The mission of National Youth Heart Screening Day is to to encourage individuals, families, schools, and communities to make youth heart screening a priority, because knowledge is power. While access to AEDs is critical in the fight against sudden cardiac arrest (SCA), heart screenings are equally important. Think about it. Heart screenings are a critical preventative measure that can flag heart defects, thus preventing SCA in many cases before it occurs, whereas AEDs and CPR are critical treatments after an SCA event has happened.
Why Screening is So Important
While the majority of children and teenagers appear perfectly healthy, underlying heart issues, such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy or various arrhythmias often go unnoticed and can lead to Sudden Cardiac Arrest.
Many people are surprised to learn that Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) is the #1 killer of student-athletes and the leading cause of death on school campuses. In total, SCA strikes more than 23,000 youth lives each year, and the main cause behind these tragedies is often undiagnosed heart conditions. Heart Screenings can identify abnormalities that are not detected during routine physical exams or sports clearance checks. In fact, today’s ‘standard’ youth physicals miss up to 90% of youth at risk. Simple, non-invasive heart screenings can turn that number upside down.
Heart screenings, such as electrocardiograms (ECG/EKG) or echocardiograms, help detect irregularities in heart rhythm, muscle thickness, and other warning signs of potentially life-threatening conditions.
Many heart conditions that lead to SCA can be prevented or treated if they are identified early. Early intervention can also then lead to recommended lifestyle changes, medications, or even procedures to address a heart issue before it becomes fatal.
Families can avoid the devastation of losing a child by taking advantage of youth heart screening programs. This is why National Youth Heart Screening Day on February 1, 2025, is so important.
What You Can Do to Get Involved
National Youth Heart Screening Day will feature events across 15 states and is hoping to make an impact on more than 10,000 youth lives, according to ParentHeartWatch.org. Click here to see where events are being held near you.
Remember, National Youth Heart Screening Day is just one day. The need to learn more about your heart health and ways you can help others never ends. Keeping the momentum growing relies on you!
If you are a parent, coach, teacher, or healthcare provider, you play an essential role in raising awareness of youth heart health. Talk to your local schools, sports organizations, and healthcare professionals about incorporating heart screenings into routine check-ups for young people. Encourage every student-athlete, even those who appear perfectly healthy, to undergo EKG heart screenings as part of their regular health check-ups or sports physicals.
Several organizations offer resources and provide screening events nationwide. To learn more about youth heart screening, visit these helpful websites:
- The American Heart Association
- Parent Heart Watch
- The Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation
- MCORE Foundation
- Young Hearts for Life
You can also learn more about heart screenings, and equipping your community with AED access, both indoors and outside, at www.SaveHeart.LIfe. We work with leading AED manufacturers, distributors, not-for-profit organizations, and technology providers to prepare & protect people and organizations everywhere from SCA emergencies.
Help us to get the word out. You can share this message or tell someone about it on social media. By spreading the word about National Youth Heart Screening Day and the importance of proactive heart health, we can help save lives and make our communities stronger and healthier.
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