Students provided free EKG screenings
JACKSON, Tenn. — From heart disease to irregular heart beats, students are getting the opportunity to learn about their health.
Electrocardiography is a medical test that has not been previously conducted at the Jackson-Madison County School System, but one organization is helping to change the narrative.
“We’re here at North Side High School. Today, it’s piloting our youth EKG screening. We have about 122 students who are signed up to have a free, provided by Friends of Heart, non-invasive test to make sure that they don’t have an underlying condition since birth. Perhaps, there’s about seven or eight things that an EKG can detect,” said Caitlin Clark, the Executive Director of Friends of Heart.
Both male and female students that participate in band or sports were given the choice to be screened.
And one informational video that students were shown by Dr. Mike Revelle gave the kids a very close look at the importance of doing heart screenings.
“Chase Gardener, who last year collapsed and had to be revived with an AED at a baseball clinic in Texas. And turned out he had a condition that an EKG should have to detected, had he been tested,” Clark said.
This test can help save lives and allow the students to be safer going forward.
“We want to be proactive and catch anything in case there’s a problem, then we can get them in with a pediatric cardiologists, get them seen, and hopefully, get back out there on the field or the court as soon as possible,” Clark said.
This round of testing was completed on Wednesday, currently there are no details on a future testing date.
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