Mahomet, IL– On April 3, 2018, well over 200 students were screened with an ECG, to detect potential heart issues, under the “Young Hearts for Life” (YH4L) program.
This program identifies high school and college-age students who could be at risk for sudden cardiac death. Each week, sudden cardiac death claims the lives of more than 60 young adults in the United States. Under the guidance of Dr. Joseph Mark, YH4L seeks to detect young adults at risk for sudden cardiac death as well as raise community awareness of this devastating problem.
YH4L, by working with area high schools and colleges, offers ECG (electrocardiogram) testing to all students free of charge. This screening consists of a quick, simple, painless ECG. The ECG machine monitors the electrical activity of the heart and prints out information about heart rate and rhythm. A trained cardiologist then interprets the printed ECG. An ECG can detect certain impulse patterns or “markers” associated with conditions that a stethoscope cannot detect
Young Hearts for Life was brought to Mahomet-Seymour HS through the work of Mrs. Lisa Martin, Health instructor at M-S High School, as well as Daren and Sandy Prather, who lost their son Matthew in March of 2016 to sudden cardiac death.
BroMenn Medical Center is the organization that brings the medical equipment and expertise. “The volunteers with BroMenn Medical Center were amazing to work with as they brought the Nationally Recognized Young Hearts for Life Program to our school. They were professional and very knowledgeable, yet had a presence that relaxed the atmosphere and created a welcoming environment for our students,” said Mrs. Martin. “We are appreciative of the community members of Mahomet-Seymour that came out to volunteer. Their ability to connect with our students and create a welcoming environment is much appreciated as most of them donated their whole day to the program. Finally, we would like to thank the students, staff, and administration of MSHS. This truly was a team effort.”
About YH4L, the Prather’s said, “Mahomet is so fortunate to have had YH4L come to our community. I cannot tell you how much our family appreciates the work that Lisa Martin and the people from YH4L did to make it happen and run so smoothly. We had such an amazing team of volunteers! Without them opportunities like this just don’t happen. There are so many unknowns in the area of sudden cardiac death in young people. Programs like this provide knowledge and power in hopes that no other family will have to suffer such a loss. We struggle every day to understand the loss of our Matthew but we have great hope! Our family loves this community and are so grateful that we were able to raise Jacob, Lucas, and Matthew here. It is our prayer that all of our students and their parents will take advantage of this opportunity in the future.”
