OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – It’s not a common killer but it’s something statistics say claims the life of one high school athlete every three days. Some metro parents are concerned and driven to action following the recent collapse of a 13-year-old at a cross country track meet.
Metro mother Dawn Anderson said, “This last week with the boy that unfortunately had cardiac arrest during a cross country meet, just made me feel much better about doing this test.”
A heart test given to her freshman son, Jack, who plays football.
“I just like the physicality of [the sport], I guess. It’s just really fun to me,” said Jack.
The cardiac testing is put on through a partnership between Athletic Testing Solutions and Shawnee Mission West High School.
President David Kuluva said, “We are looking for a number of abnormalities that would include structural and electrical defects.”
Saturday, families were sectioned off behind blue curtains where an expert tested each child’s blood pressure and took an ultrasound of the heart.
Dawn Anderson said, “As the technology becomes available, I think we have more and more opportunities to catch any problem that may occur.”
Kuluva continued, “We’re identifying problems that are hopefully avoiding problems for the rest of their life.”
Student Jack agreed.
“I think it was a good opportunity for me to get this done here. It was kind of nerve-wracking just because you don’t know what this means, what the signs on the picture mean,” he said. “It’s kind of like, uh am I okay or not?”
Dawn Anderson said the test itself offers this mom peace of mind.
“You should do as much as you can do to ensure that your kids and your family are healthy,” said Anderson.
Athletic Testing Solutions has done more than 1,000. They told FOX 4 seven percent of those tests have identified some type of abnormality in the children tested.
CLICK HERE to learn more about testing costs the future schedules.
