Handheld ultrasound device vendor SonoSite of Bothell, WA, will sponsor a free screening program at a California high school tomorrow to catch potentially deadly heart conditions in teen athletes.
Armed with the 5.4-lb SonoHeart, cardiologists plan to screen 400 students at Fountain Valley High School looking for signs of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a condition that generally has no apparent symptoms, and is not addressed in the pre-participation physical exam for young athletes. Dr. Robert Siegel, director of the cardiac noninvasive laboratory at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, and Dr. Keith Weiner, chief of pediatric cardiology at Fountain Valley Regional Hospital, will supervise the screening.
The event is co-sponsored by A Heart for Sports Foundation, a new non-profit group in Yorba Linda, CA that hopes to establish similar screening programs around the country.
In November 1999, Fountain Valley High athlete Scotty Lang collapsed while playing football due to an enlarged heart. The pilot screening is being held in his memory.
By AuntMinnie.com staff writersSeptember 15, 2000
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