Heartfelt Cardiac Screening

Heartfelt Cardiac Projects will offer cardiac screenings to St. Margaret’s students (age five and older), parents, alumni, faculty, staff and the local community on Saturday, August 27, 8 a.m. - 4 p.m., in the Pasternack Field House. For the fourth year, St. Margaret’s has partnered with Heartfelt Cardiac Projects, a non-profit organization committed to saving lives from preventable tragedies due to sudden cardiac death (SCD) offering costly echocardiograms (ECHO) and electrocardiograms (ECG/EKG) for a nominal tax-deductible donation, per screening.

 

Passionate about the health and wellness of student-athletes and the St. Margaret’s community, this program was brought to St. Margaret’s by Tartan Alumni Association President Dr. Todd Newman ‘91, vice chairman, Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine at Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, who also serves as the Tartans varsity football team physician, and his sister, Erin Newman Armstrong ‘98, a cardiac ICU nurse at Mission Hospital and wife of a sudden cardiac arrest survivor.

 

“In recent years, there has been a rash of high-profile deaths among young, apparently healthy athletes from across the nation, in a variety of sports. These tragic incidents have raised awareness and demonstrated a need for more comprehensive cardiac screening for young athletes and young people in general. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, deaths from sudden cardiac arrest have increased 10 percent in persons between the ages of 15 and 34,” said Dr. Newman.

 

Director of Athletics and Physical Education Patrick Bendzick added, “With the increase in deaths from sudden cardiac arrest among seemingly asymptomatic young athletes, we want to ensure that St. Margaret’s is at the forefront of offering the best possible prevention. This preventative screening is the perfect opportunity to safeguard our athletes and their families against a potentially life-threatening condition.”

 

The screening process itself is simple, low cost and carries no health risks. It is a short, painless, ultrasound of the heart, with no side effects. Certified technologists will administer each test. After completing a simple health questionnaire, participants will receive their echocardiogram and electrocardiogram, which takes approximately 15-20 minutes to administer. Results are read by a cardiologist/electrophysiologist and mailed back to participants within 30 days. Participants who require further evaluation will be referred to an appropriate physician. The screening is offered for a tax deductible donation of $85 per person.