By Fred Kroner
fred@mahometnews.com
Mahomet-Seymour High School students have the chance for a free heart screening next month.
Young Hearts For Life has scheduled a screening for April 3 in the high school gymnasium. An electrocardiogram will be used to identify students who are at risk of possible sudden cardiac death.
The ECG can reveal conditions or markers associated with sudden cardiac death.
The deadline to sign up is March 27. Parents must sign a consent form in order for a student to be given the test.
Each year in the United States, more than 3,000 young people die from sudden a cardiac episode.
One of those deaths claimed the life of an M-S high school senior in March 2016, Matthew Prather.
Prather’s family is one of the sponsors for the upcoming screening, along with M-S district nurse Nita Bachman, health education teacher Lisa Martin and the staff at BroMenn Medical Center.
“There isn’t a limit as to the number they can screen,” Martin said.
All information is confidential and results will not be available to anyone at the high school.
“As far as results, from my understanding, when the parents sign up they receive a number that identifies their child,” Martin said. “The parent/guardian will receive an e-mail and be asked to verify identification through this number.
“No results will be shared with the school for privacy reasons, following the same legal requirements as medical professionals have to follow.”
To date, Young Hearts For Life has performed more than 180,000 free screenings nationally for high school or college-aged students.
More information, including signup forms, are available at the website, https://sites.google.com/ms.k12.il.us/mshsyoungheartsforlife/home.
