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Heart Screening for Student-Athletes

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Jayne Walker, 513.354.3700 | [email protected]

Kendall Herold, 513.585.4900 | [email protected]

 Heart Screening for High School Athletes; Now easily accessible through a partnership between Beacon Orthopaedics & The Christ Hospital Health Network

Cincinnati, OH (May 11, 2015) “Sudden cardiac death can happen in young athletes with no previous symptoms of heart problems.”

  • One out of one hundred children have some congenital cardiac abnormality. Most of these can be detected with Echocardiogram (Echo) in combination with Electrocardiogram (EKG).
  • Routine pre participation physical exam most likely will not pick up this condition.
  • 1 in 500 have a condition known as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, the most common cause of sudden cardiac death in young athletes
  • Heart screening for student athletes should be readily accessible

 In March of last year, The Christ Hospital Health Network and Beacon Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine announced a partnership to create a world-class sports medicine program in Greater Cincinnati, offering a broad scope of outreach programs to the community, including comprehensive medical care and services to area high school and college teams. Recently this sports medicine outreach team met with Santosh Menon, MD, a cardiologist specializing in heart failure and serves as the Medical Director of Outreach for the Carl and Edyth Lindner Heart Failure Treatment Center at The Christ Hospital. Dr. Menon is a leader in the field of cardiac screenings for high level athletes.

  “Sudden cardiac death remains an uncommon, but significant problem among high school athletes. A routine history and physical exam is not enough to uncover a potential deadly problem in our young athletes. Electrocardiograms and Echocardiograms are easy and safe ways to look for potential problems and fix them before they manifest. These tests, performed and interpreted by experts at The Christ Hospital, are a life-saving resource that should be considered for all high school athletes,” said Dr. Menon.

 Beacon & Christ’s Sports Medicine Partnership is working together to make this highly discounted heart screening for student athletes availabile in the Greater Cincinnati area. All screenings will be reviewed by a Christ Hospital board certified heart specialist. The Screening Echocardiogram and EKG are available for only $99 “ a fraction of the cost of a complete diagnostic Echo/EKG. The tests will be available at The Christ Hospital Health Network testing centers, located throughout the Tristate beginning June 1st.

 Dr. Timothy Kremchek has served as Medical Director and Team physician for area high schools, colleges and professional sports teams for over 20 years. He commented on this ECHO program by stating, “When we partnered with The Christ Hospital Health Network to provide comprehensive care for our athletes, this is exactly what we had in mind. Unfortunately, tragic events have happened in youth sports related to cardiac conditions that were undetected. While not every athlete necessarily needs this screening, there is a real comfort knowing that an athlete with a family history of cardiac issues is clear to play.”

 Support from Local Athletic Administrators:

Jeff Zidron, Athletic Director at Indian Hill High School, a school that partners with Beacon and Christ to provide services for their athletes adds, “In our continuing effort to provide our student athletes with the best health care available, the addition of the optional heart screening program is the next step to ensure families are better informed of their child’s health. Much like our inclusion of concussion IMPACT testing for all our athletes many years ago, we see optional ECHO/EKG screening as another level of protection for our athletes and their families.”

 Scott Rodgers, Executive Director of Cincinnati United Soccer Club, stated, “Today’s athletes are striving to compete at the highest levels possible. It is great to see Christ and Beacon are providing preemptive programs like the Echocardiogram/EKG Screening. Unfortunately, several years ago I had a 14 year player pass away of a heart condition that was never diagnosed. This test can be extremely valuable for families looking for peace of mind. The screening can provide information and potential treatment plans. On behalf of parents and coaches, I want to thank Beacon and Christ for providing this service for the Cincinnati Athlete.”

 About Beacon Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine: Beacon Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine was founded in 1996 as a multi-physician practice providing orthopaedic care to the Cincinnati community. The practice has since grown into a nationally known and respected provider of orthopaedic care with five convenient locations in the Greater Cincinnati area. Beacon’s Board Certified and Fellowship trained physicians together with over 400 medical and customer service professionals deliver quality care to professional and student athletes as well as the general public. Beacon proudly provides medical services to the Cincinnati Reds, Xavier University, several other colleges and many high schools in the southwestern Ohio, southeastern Indiana and northern Kentucky area.

 About The Christ Hospital Health Network: The Christ Hospital has been rated as Cincinnati’s Most Preferred Hospital for 18 years in a row. The Christ Hospital Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine program is a leader in orthopaedic care, ranked 29th in the nation for Orthopaedics by U.S. News & World Report. With a world-class team of physicians, nurses and physical therapy staff, The Christ Hospital has an established track record of excellent outcomes as well as patient satisfaction that has consistently scored among the top two percent in the country on the Orthopaedic unit.

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