Louisville, Ky. (WHAS11) - It's become an all too frequent headline: Seemingly healthy teen athletes dropping dead while playing sports. It is estimated that a child dies from sudden cardiac arrest every nine days in the US. So, what's behind this alarming trend? It's often a silent, undetected heart condition. One in 350 children is now believed to have one. So why isn’t it detected before a child begins playing sports and when it happens why do so few live?
WHAS11's Claudia Coffey has decided to share the story of her son Jack. Jack has one of these serious heart conditions and this is the story of how Claudia found out and possibly prevented her son from becoming one of these tragic stories.
Claudia hopes to spark a discussion among parents, educators and doctors about simple warning signs you may see in your child, and the tests you may want to get and what many schools don't have on site that could save your child's life.
In March 2011, 16-year-old Wes Leonard from Michigan looked to be the picture of health. But he collapsed and died after making the game winning shot in a basketball game.
Two weeks later, two more teens died, one in Florida and another in Colorado. The cause was sudden cardiac arrest.
But could these kids have been saved? According to Dr. Christopher Johnsrude, the Director of Congenital Heart Center at Kosair Childrens Hospital, there can be warning signs: fainting, difficulty breathing or chest pains. And if it’s caught early, Dr. Johnsrude says the vast majority of them do well.
Claudia’s son Jack is a typical 4-year-old. But there was a family history of heart problems, and genetic testing confirmed a rare electrical heart condition called long QT syndrome. Intense physical activity like competitive sports could be the trigger to electrically short circuit his heart. This could cause fainting, seizures or even death. But by avoiding major sports and with medication, jack can live a long and happy life.
Life with Jack is one day at a time, but it’s hard to slow a 4-year-old down. He can run and play, but is advised not to play competitive football, basketball, track or swimming. But Claudia says she’s lucky: he's alive.
Dawn McNew of Crestwood will never forget the fear she felt on Sept. 15, 2009 when her then 14-year-old son Sean went into cardiac arrest after doing pushups at South Oldham High School.
Sean survived and was diagnosed with yet another type of electrical heart problem. He had a tiny defibrillator implanted.
Sean's parents believe he got a second chance because the school had an AED - automatic external defibrillator. It gives an electrical shock to the heart to restore the patient’s heart rhythm. According to children's health advocacy group Parent Heart Watch, 70 percent of all sudden cardiac arrest victims are saved when a defibrillator is used immediately.
But South Oldham is the exception. Officials purchased AEDs on their own. Some Jefferson County schools do have AEDs. But at nearly $2,000 each, many schools don’t have room in their budgets. Only 14 states require those in schools, and Kentucky is not one of them.
A bill passed in Kentucky in 2009 stopped short of mandating them in schools. Julian Tackett, Director of the Kentucky High School Athletic Association, told us that the bill does require coaches to get CPR training and know how to use an AED if available.
But too often the first symptom is the last and there's no price you can place on a child's life.
In Italy, heart screenings there are being credited with lowering the death rate among certain teen athletes. But in the United States, certain medical groups, including the American Heart Association, are more critical, saying it can produce a false positives and the cost doesn't outweigh the benefit.
This story is also prompting Rep Jon I Jenkins in Shively to draft legislation that would require AEDs in schools throughout Kentucky. It would be introduced next session.
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