"A pilot program being tested in New England has raised awareness
of heart health among youth sports participants by offering free cardiac
screenings to high school athletes and by working to raise funds for automatic
external defibrillators (AEDs) in the schools.
The program is a joint venture of The Chad Foundation
for Athletes and Artists and the Living Heart Network, lead by a mother
who lost her son to sudden cardiac death and a retired heart surgeon, respectively.
. ."
". . .In May, holyoke High School, Holyoke Catholic High and Dean Technical
High - all in Holyoke, Mass. - completed the first phase of the pilot..."
"...of those who were tested during the first phase in May, several
were found to have high scholesterol, elevated blood pressure and, in one
case, a worrisome result on the arterial elasticity test."
". . .Arthur 'Archie' Roberts, MD, founder of the Living Heart Network,
said the data eventually should help physicians get a more complete picture
of conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, hypertension and cholesterol
trouble."
". . .Enter Arista, a writer and former model whose son, Chad Butrum
suffered sudden cardiac death while playing a city league football game
in 1994. He was 26 years old.
To honor Chad's memory, Arista and her other two sons organized an annual
volleyball tournament and donated the proceeds to Los Angeles Children's
Hospital Heart Center. But she wanted to do more.
About a year ago, Arista organized echocardiogram screenings at North
Hollywood High School (her son's alma mater) and Dunbar High in Baltimore,
alma mater of basketball player Reggis Lewis, who died of sudden cardiac
death in 1993.
The Chad Foundation also sponsored another organization that did a free
screening in Fountain Valley, Calif., where 16-year-old Scotty
Lang succumbed to sudden cardiac death.
Roberts heard about Arista's efforts and went to meet her to see if
their two missions could turn into a partnership.
'Because he's a heart surgeon, we decided to work together and set up
a more comprehensive cardiovascular screening program,' Arista said. 'Our
goal is to make this pilot program at Holyoke be used nationwide to support
a healthy cardiovascular lifestye. We're not only screening for these legal
cardiac anomalies but also providing kids with knowledge to live better
and eat better.'. . ."
". . .Eventually, (Roberts) hopes the cardiac screening program will
become part of every school's preparticipation exams - and he wants one
nationwide method for gathering the data in order to aid research efforts.
. ."