Free screening helps prevent sudden cardiac death in teens

Morris Hospital’s free Rhythm of Our Youth cardiac screening is returning to a number of high schools this year, and volunteers are needed.

At these screening, specially trained volunteers perform free electrocardiogram screenings on students whose parents have given permission for the screenings, according to a news release from Morris Hospital.

An ECG “measures the electrical activity of the heart and detects certain heart abnormalities that can lead to sudden cardiac death,” the release states. The test is noninvasive and painless.

The screenings help to detect undiagnosed cardiac abnormalities that have the potential to cause sudden cardiac death. Screening results are not shared with the school but are sent home to the student’s parents, according to the release.

About 3% of students are referred to their physician for additional follow-up after the screenings. Generally, less than 1% of these students require cardiac intervention, according to the release.

Except for the 2020-21 school year, Morris Hospital has conducted this screening every year since 2016. Donors to the Morris Hospital Foundation provide the funding, according to the release.

Screenings will be held at Gardner-South Wilmington High School on Aug. 25, Morris High School on Sept. 8, Coal City High School on Sept. 22, and Newark High School on Oct. 19. Screenings will be held at Minooka Community High School and Seneca High School for the second semester of the 2021-22 school year, according to the release.

Dwight, Marquette, Ottawa, Reed-Custer and Wilmington high schools are on the rotation schedule for the 2022-23 school year, according to the release.

For information, to complete an electronic consent form or to volunteer at a Rhythm of Our Youth screening event, go to morrishospital.org/rhythmofouryouth.