Florida's ECG Law Detects Hidden Heart Defect in 1 Student-Athlete as 80% Show No Symptoms
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Aug 22
Florida's ECG Law Detects Hidden Heart Defect in 1 Student-Athlete as 80% Show No Symptoms
1 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 22
Summary
Cameron Crider, a Florida high-school football and basketball player, learned through a newly required ECG that he has an atrial septal defect despite having no symptoms.
July 1 brought Florida’s Second Chance Act into force, requiring grades 9-12 students to get at least one ECG when first trying out for interscholastic sports, with some exceptions.
October surgery is planned for Crider, and his family said the screening found the congenital defect before it could cause complications such as pulmonary hypertension, heart failure or stroke.
Up to 80% of young athletes who suffer sudden cardiac arrest have no warning signs, according to sports cardiologist Jonathan Drezner, who said history and physical exams alone miss 80-90% of at-risk cases.
The American Heart Association still does not back mandatory ECGs for every student-athlete, favoring a layered screening approach that starts with medical history and a physical exam.