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The Chad Foundation for Athletes and Artists to join 40 Families who have lost Children to Sudden Cardiac Arrest What : Parent Heart Watch will coalesce in conference sponsored and founded by Medtronics, Inc, an international leader in medical technology, with corporate headquarters in Minneapolis, MN. Where: Embassy Suites – 3600 Paradise Rd. – Convention Center – 702-893-8000 When: Friday- Sunday, 13th through 15th January, 2006, Las Vegas, Nevada Why : To unify their efforts in advocating change of legislation to mandate AEDs in all public venues, schools, community centers; raise public awareness of Sudden Cardiac Death in Young people; advocate preventive heart screenings and educate parents on warning signs and promote good cardiovascular practices in diet and lifestyle. "The Chad Foundation for Athletes and Artist" is a story of one family's way of dealing with the tragic loss of a 26 year old Son due to Sudden Cardiac Death in Young Athletes. Chad Butrum died on 24th of April, 1994 while playing football in Van Nuys, CA after collapsing on the field, with no history of heart disease. His artist/mother, residing in New York, founded THE CHAD FOUNDATION FOR ATHLETES AND ARTISTS, to inspire youth to live as her son did- anti-substance abuse and alcohol-free, "Healthy body/mind/ spirit." According to Chad's family, Chad never smoked, drank, and was fiercely opposed to drugs and steroids. The Gift of Heart and Art The mission of The Chad Foundation is to raise the awareness of Sudden Cardiac Death in Young Athletes through educational lectures, video, scientific research and preventive measures, such as providing "Free Cardiovascular Screenings to High Schools, Colleges, Athletic Orgs. and the Disenfranchised." Secondarily, the foundation's mission as artists is to create art that comes from "the heart" - film, theatre, books which celebrate American stories of all heritages and provide inspiring role models. Recently, the McGraw Hill Books asked the foundation to do an on-camera intro to the classic poem, "To An Athlete Dying Young," by E. Houseman; the video is being shown in 5000 schools. The Foundation just completed a documentary titled "Beyond A Mother's Memories," showing the journey of the foundation to save hearts through cardiovascular screenings; Envoy Film Festival received an honorable mention. The founder, Arista's, teleplay, "My Year with the Homeless," recounts her experiences bringing 2 homeless soccer teams to Europe and the daily work of a NY homeless social service agency who uses athletics and art to help get their homeless back on their feet. In a real life, The Chad Foundation provided free echocardiograms for 26 countries of disenfranchised athletes participating in the "1st Homeless Streetsoccer World Cup in Graz, Austria in 2003" and the "2nd Homeless Streetsoccer World Cup in Gotenberg,Sweden in 2004. HBO aired a story on the 1st event in Sept. of 2004. The Chad Foundation Cardiovascular Screening Program In July 2000, The Chad Foundation provided the first "Free Echocardiogram Screening for High School Athletes" in the country at North Hollywood High School in North Hollywood, CA. Since that time high schools and universities in five states and globally have participated in The Chad Foundation's program to safeguard their athletes and students through their preventive heart screening program Echocardiograms which range from $1400 to $2000 are normally not covered by insurance companies but the painless, ultrasound test is considered the best diagnostic tool for detecting structural anomalies, such as HCM, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, (the abnormal thickening of the left ventricular wall), the leading silent killer of Sudden Cardiac Deaths in young people. The HCM gene is present in 1 in 500 births. HCM took the lives of basketball greats, Hank Gathers and Reggie Lewis. (My son, Chad, died of a similar heart ailment, dilated cardiomyopathy, with no previous history while he was playing football.) In May and June of 2001, The Chad Foundation partnered with Dr. Archie Roberts, former pro-ball player and renowned heart surgeon, to launch a comprehensive Cardiovascular Screening Program in Holyoke, MA, which included tests for: blood pressure, cholesterol levels, blood sugar, obesity, pulmonary function, EKG and Echo . In screening 3 Holyoke high schools - approximately 250 screenings, we found at least a third of the students were at risk for one of the components of cardiovascular disease: hypertension, obesity, diabetes, raised cholesterol levels - we found 4 or 5 students who had levels of over 300! We also did find heart anomalies and a few enlarged hearts which definitely required pediatric cardio follow-up While most victims are in their 60's and 70's, the CDC reported that the rate of young people dying from cardiac arrest has soared in the last 10 years . The CDC (Center for Disease Control) says 300,000 people die annually from sudden cardiac death. The most recent report from the CDC says there are 3,000 of these deaths annually among Americans between the ages of 15 - 34 yrs., a 10 percent increase during the past decade. The CDC study says that for many young people, sudden cardiac death is preventable, especially through screenings for families at risk. The study suggests that for others, basic improvements in eating and exercise habits might reduce the risk. Many of the deaths involved clogged arteries. A study last year of 249 teenagers found that 80 percent had an unhealthy buildup of cholesterol on artery walls, often the result of eating high-fat foods. Obesity is another major risk factor. Between 1969 to 1999, the obesity rate among Americans aged 18 to 29 more than doubled from 5 percent to 12 percent. One in five kids who are born in 2000 will develop diabetes. High Schools, Universities, Athletic Orgs. Participating in Chad Foundation Cardiovascular Screenings
With Support and Appreciation of Donated Services
For more information, please contact:
(Ms. Arista, Parent Heart Watch, Embassy
Suites, 1300 Paradise Rd., Las Vegas, 702-893-8000,
Arista |