On Wednesday night, many Walker students will be
going to the gymnasium to get their annual physical, and a small group,
including myself, will be getting a heart screen. At first it seems odd
for teenagers to be getting a heart screen because heart problems are
traditionally associated with older people.
I was very skeptical last year, but in actuality, every athlete should
have his or her heart screened.
According to Heart Screens for Teens, 1 in 500
teenagers have Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM), a thickening of the heart
muscle that makes it difficult to pump blood. HCM is the number one cause of sudden
cardiac death in teenagers. In addition, about 2,000 people under
the age of 25 die from sudden cardiac arrest each year, and athletes are at 3
times a greater risk than others for an attack. As teenage athletes, we are
more prone to not taking care of bodies and pushing ourselves further.
Being on the track team last year, my mom wanted
to me to have a heart screening, and from
my visit I learned that I have mitral valve prolapse, one of the more common
congenital heart defects. The program
Walker offers is at a greatly lowered price with one heart screen being only $65,
and it was worth every penny. With so
many athletes at Walker, I’m surprised more students do not take advantage of
this opportunity. It is a cheap price to
pay to prevent any future problems and have a peaceful mind.
