Holy Cross Hospital and Children’s National Medical Center are offering new mothers at Holy Cross Hospital the opportunity to have their newborns screened for serious heart problems through a test called pulse oximetry, or “pulse ox.”

This test measures the amount of oxygen that is being carried in a baby’s blood by shining a special light through the baby’s skin. It helps to find babies who do not have as much oxygen in their blood as they should, which is common among babies who have serious heart problems.

The test is not painful and only takes a few minutes. The pulse oximetry test is conducted at the hospital after a baby is 24 hours old and before the mother and baby go home. Participation in the screening is voluntary.

If a baby is thought to already have a heart problem they will not be eligible for the test. If a baby has the pulse oximetry test and has a lower reading than we would expect, the doctor or nurse practitioner caring for the baby may order additional tests or refer the infant to specialized physicians.

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Heart  Hospital of Austin, a premiere Texas Hospital Helps Screen Young Athletes for Cardiovascular Disorders

Cardiovascular disorders are the #1 cause of death in the United States. More than 935,000 Americans die each year from cardiovascular conditions. Generally, when we think of dying from a cardiovascular event we may think of an elderly person. But there are conditions in young people which can cause sudden cardiac death and are never detected until it’s too late.

Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy occurs in every 1 out of 500 athletes and can kill without any warning signs. Worldwide, every 1 in 150 babies are born with some type of cardiac defect. 

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Lower Merion school officials are bringing in a program next month to give free heart screenings to its students in the hopes of detecting anyone who might be at risk of having a sudden cardiac arrest.

The district is partnering with Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and a local charity called Simon’s Fund to provide free heart screenings for students 10-19 years old Saturday, June 12, at Harriton High School, 600 N. Ithan Ave. in Rosemont.

Simon’s Fund was established five years ago in memory of Simon Sudman, the 3-month-old son of Phyllis and Darren Sudman. Simon took a nap and never woke up. ECG exams on the family revealed that Simon probably died from Long QT Syndrome, which affects the heart’s rhythm.

When you think of heart problems, you usually think about adults. But, the risk is there for young people as well.  When you think of heart problems, you usually think about adults. But, the risk is there for young people as well.  Each month, several young Americans die suddenly and unexpectedly from Cardiac Arrhythmia Syndromes. But an effort is underway to change that, by offering free heart screenings to young people.

“I throw the discus and I also do high jump,” Connor Moore said.  Connor is an avid athlete. And of course, all athletes have to be in tip top shape. But recently, Connor found out he had a problem that could have side lined him – permanently.  “At first I thought something was wrong with my heart. I didn’t know if it was a big deal or not,” Moore said.

Connor has a heart arrhythmia known as Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome.  “He’s probably had it since birth and he doesn’t have any signs or symptoms of having anything at all,” Connor’s mom, Lee Moore said.  People with Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome have an abnormality in the way their heart beats. Not everyone will have symptoms of it.  Connor never did.

A free heart health screening called the Safebeat Initiative, put on by Cardiac Arrhythmia Syndrome’s Foundation is the only reason he knows.

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On May 8, Simon’s Fund hosted a free heart screening for the students at Germantown Academy.  One hundred seventy-four students took advantage of this unique opportunity. 

The cardiac screening was performed by The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.  The nursing staff from Germantown Academy pitched in during the day to take the blood pressure, height and weight of the students.

Capitol Building in Harrisburg, PA

We traveled to Harrisburg, PA to testify before the House Subcommitee on Education.  We were there to support this bill that would mandate AED devices in schools and set up a pilot heart screening program.  We submitted written testimony, but were asked to comment too.  My comments are below:

Chairman Roebuck, Chairman Clymer and Members of the Committee, thank you for inviting me here today to testify. My name is Darren Sudman and I reside in Plymouth Meeting, a town where two boys, Simon Sudman and Vince Bernardo, died from sudden cardiac arrest in the last five years. Simon was my son and Vince was a graduate of PW High School and a freshman at Shippensburg University.  I am here as the father of Simon Sudman and the co-founder of Simon’s Fund.  I am joined here by my wife, Phyllis and Josh Weisman, the fund manager.

Simon’s Fund was started five years ago, following the death of Simon.  In five years, it has provided heart screenings to over 1600 children in the Philadelphia area. 

Before I begin, I want to ask all of you a question. How many of you have been to a mall, sporting event or theme park with your child or grandchild, and turned around to realize that he or she was not there.  For that split second, do you remember that feeling . . . that sick feeling?  That’s what days feel like after your child dies.

Most of you probably assume that we came here today for Simon.  That is only partially true.  We are here today for your children, because one out of every 100 children have a potentially fatal heart condition.

There is good news.  This bill can help.  This bill, which includes the placement of AED devices and providing heart screenings, can reduce the number of childhood deaths.  How do we know?  Because in Italy, where they have been screening the hearts of all of their young athletes for 25 years, they have reduced the number of deaths by 89%.  Did you hear that . . . 89%.

There’s better news.  This bill can address the problem.  We are not asking for billions of dollars to research for a cure.  This bill is just asking for some inexpensive machines – AEDs – and even cheaper tests – ECG exams.

Let’s try this illustration.  If each member of this General Assembly had one child, and we screened the hearts of all 253 children, we would find 2 – 4 children with a serious heart condition.  That is an unacceptable statistic to ignore.

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to share our story today.  Simon’s Fund would like to return here to provide heart screenings for all of your children, and support your efforts on this bill.  We definitely support HB 1803.  Thank you for your time.

The St. Petersburg Times ran a story today titled “Medical Experts at Odds Over Value of Cardiac Testing for Kids.”  I love debates.  This topic deserves a real debate so that the facts can come out and we can make an educated and informed decision.  Unfortunately, I don’t think that is occuring.  I’m hearing alot of opinions, or even worse, opinions represented as fact, from the naysayers. 

Simon’s Fund provides heart screenings for children.  In our experience, 2 out of every 100 children that are screened discover a potentially fatal heart condition that they did know about.  Our findings are consistent with the findings in Italy and the recent study released by Harvard.

We also spend about $60 to screen a child.  This includes the cost of the ECG exam and ECHO, if necessary.  I don’t think that $60 is too much to spend to check the most important organ in a person’s body.  I think that the chance of saving two out of every 100 children is a good use of  time and resources.  I’d love to see some facts to disprove my beliefs.  Seriously, I’ll entertain them.     

According to Medline Plus, 2 of out every 1,000 children born have some kind of hearing impairment.  In 30 states, all newborns must receive a hearing test.  This is great.  Hearing is important.

I hope that our children’s hearts get the same level of attention and commitment as their ears.  After all, in the scheme of life, hearing is a “nice to have,” a healthy heart is a “must have.”

Gaines Adams did not have an electrocardiogram or echocardiogram as part of his medical pre-screening as an athlete at Clemson, where he was a star defensive lineman from 2003-06. He died Jan. 17 of sudden cardiac arrest after completing his second season in the NFL.

Adams’ death once again stirred the debate on whether athletes at all levels are getting the type of medical screening that would prevent sudden deaths from heart-related problems. And once again, school administrators and doctors do not agree on merits of the tests or procedures.

A survey conducted by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution revealed that Clemson is one of eight of the 24 schools in the ACC and SEC that do not provide EKGs and/or ECHOs as part of pre-screening for athletes.

Boston College, Duke, Clemson, Kentucky, Maryland, South Carolina, Wake Forest and Virginia Tech provide a thorough questionnaire and physician’s exam during the pre-screening process for incoming athletes, but do not offer EKGs or ECHOs.

But should they?

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March 1 (Bloomberg) — Heart defects that can cause otherwise healthy athletes to die while playing in basketball and football games were detected in Harvard University athletes using a common $88 test.

The tests, known as electrocardiography or ECG, were given to 510 Harvard athletes in addition to their standard physicals, according to a study published today by the Annals of Internal Medicine. The added tests identified two players who were deemed healthy in typical examinations despite having dangerous defects that should bar them from competition. Scientists in three articles debated the merits of routine ECG tests for athletes.

Genetic heart defects caused the courtside deaths of Hank Gathers, an All-America 23-year-old basketball forward at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, and Reggie Lewis, a 27- year-old All Star guard for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association. Such defects are the top cause of sudden death in sports, killing 1 of every 220,000 young athletes each year, according to previous studies.

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