PRESS RELEASES
ARIZONA
HEART INSTITUTE
CONTACT:
Mary Wheeler, 602-908-9812
mwheeler@azheart.com
updated: May 18, 2009
RESULTS OF FREE HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS PHYSICALS ARE IN:
25% OF THE 2328 STUDENT ATHLETES TESTED HAD ABNORMAL ECG’S;
FIVE PERCENT HAD HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE
PHOENIX, AZ—The leading cause of death in high school and college athletes is Sudden Cardiac Death. While ECGs are used regularly in pre-screening athletes in Europe debate is ongoing as to whether the United States should call for more rigorous and broad health screening. TOPS physicals have revealed numerous potential health problems for students. A TOPS screening in 2004 helped save the life of Doug McWhorter, a high school junior whose coach mandated that he get his annual physical at the TOPS event. Doug recalls that he didn’t think a free screening could be very good and he wasn’t happy about having to attend. Then his testing came back abnormal and his world changed.
William J. Rappoport, MD, FACC of Arizona Heart Institute, was the lead cardiologist for the cardiovascular portion of the TOPS program who evaluated Doug that day. “His family and personal history were negative for cardiovascular events, his physical exam was normal, and there were no heart murmurs. However, his ECG was grossly abnormal, suggesting that he had a life threatening heart condition called Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM). So we performed a cardiac ultrasound on site that same day, confirming his condtion,” said Dr. Rappoport. “A simple ECG increases our ability to detect such problems by about 70 percent. A normal physical without an ECG would have missed this,” continued Dr. Rappoport. “Because HCM is a genetic disorder, Doug’s entire family was screened. It was a good thing because both his father and brother were also diagnosed with HCM. Now a 20-year old college student, Doug and his affected family members were treated with pacemakers and implantable defibrillators to protect them from sudden cardiac arrest.”
Doug says the TOPS physical was the best thing he ever had. “As it turns out, the free physical I was so skeptical of ended up being the one I value most.”
The TOPS (Team of Physicians for Students) program provides free physical exams, with cardiac screening, to Arizona student athletes. Unlike most sports physicals, TOPS events are free, include a family health history review and non-invasive cardiac testing utilizing ECGs (a test that measures electrical activity of the heart) and, when necessary, an echocardiogram (an ultrasound of the heart). The 2009 annual exams attracted more than 2300 students from 68 high schools. Of those tested, 110 had high blood pressure and 592 had abnormal ECG’s. Working in conjunction with the Steingard Medical Group, Arizona Osteopathic Medical Association (AOMA) and sponsors such as Arizona Heart Institute, John C. Lincoln Healthcare Foundation, Midwestern University, and the Maricopa County Health Department, the program now reaches nearly 4000 students throughout Maricopa County annually. Thanks to the foresight of these sponsors, student athletes are now being diagnosed early with problems ranging from vision or hearing problems to more serious problems like potentially life threatening cardiac conditions. Free physicals will be offered for Junior College Athletes at Midwestern University, (19555 N. 59th Avenue, Glendale), Saturday, July 18th from 7 a.m.- 5 p.m. For information visit http://www.aztops.org or contact Betty Toothman, 602.336.7840.
“Traditional thinking cites the high cost of ECGs and Echocardiograms as being prohibitive,” Dr. Paul M. Steingard, DO, founder of the program now known as TOPS, explained. “The cost of those tests can range up to $1000, when done by private physicians. When done enmasse by volunteers, there is no cost to the athlete. Every student athlete receives an ECG, which is read by a volunteer cardiologist from Arizona Heart Institute.”
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