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With school getting underway and everyone settling in for the new year, we would like to share with you an event coming up. On Sunday September 15, 2019, a free heart screening has been set up for teens and young adults at Monte Vista High School.

While few parents think of heart issues as something that could affect children, an estimated one in three hundred school aged children suffer from an undiagnosed heart defect, many of which could lead to cardiac arrest and death.

And the risk of complications can be higher for students who are active in sports, gymnastics, dance or other strenuous activities. Often the first warning sign is death. To help find these hidden abnormalities, the Via Heart Project will conduct a free screening open to all young people aged 12-25 on Sunday, September 15, at Monte Vista High School, 3131 Stone Valley Road, Danville, CA 94526.

The event is generously sponsored by the Citizen Corp Council of San Ramon Valley, San Ramon Regional Hospital Foundation, Monte Vista High School, City Center Bishop Ranch, and the Rotary Club of Danville CA.

The screening is conducted by volunteer San Ramon and Bay Area health professionals, including cardiologists, sonographers, and nurses. It includes a health history interview, EKG test, and a focused echocardiogram. The entire process takes about 60-90 minutes, and is totally non-invasive—there are no needles or x-ray exposure. Each teen’s confidentiality, privacy, and individual modesty is respected throughout.

This screening is important because some 7,000 to 10,000 school-aged children die each year nationwide from sudden cardiac arrest, often from conditions that could have been detected in advance. Yet neither EKG nor cardiac ultrasound is included in the typical annual physical. Via Heart Project screening is supplementary to, but does not replace, a child’s annual exam or school sports physical. Participants will also have the option to learn cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and automated external defibrillator (AED) skills during the screening.

“Any parent who has lost a child to a preventable health issue knows the pain of wondering what could have been done before it was too late. If we can prevent even one family from going through that pain, then what we have done is worth it,” said Liz Lazar-Johnson, Executive Director of Via Heart Project.

To participate, go to http://viaheartproject.org/screenings to register and download a health form and signed parental consent, both of which should be filled out and brought to the screening. Registration is currently open and closes at noon on September 13th, 2019. The event is limited to 750 people.