Heart Screening Discovers Undiagnosed Hypertension Stage 2 and Acute Heart Problems in Sixth Graders
The Researcher Dr.
Higgins from Huston hopes that the million dollar project that the Memorial Hermann Foundation and the Houston Rockets are funding, will convince state legislators to mandate making heart screening for all students in every Texas middle school.
Why Focus on Sixth-graders A sports cardiologist at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston and the Memorial Hermann Sports Medicine Institute Dr.
John Higgins is suggesting making heart exams routine for all U.
S.
sixth-graders.
And there is a good reason for that though.
Preliminary results have been published by the journal Circulation and have been presented at an American Heart Association meeting.
The findings of the heart screenings conducted in sixth-graders at a Houston middle school shocked the researchers.
They were astounded to discover seven six-graders with undiagnosed heart problems, and two of them even required urgent surgery.
Additionally three were diagnosed with Stage 2 hypertension.
As Dr.
Higgins says, it's important to make heart screenings especially in sixth-graders - "We want to save young lives, and we want to promote safe exercise".
At this age the grownups are not yet engaged in sports activities - says Higgins and "we suspect, and other people do, too, that those kids who actually have these conditions are the ones who get out of breath faster and maybe slower".
The study was involving the Key students who were predominantly black and Hispanic.
The purpose of these 20 minute screenings was to diagnose heart problems that usually show up only after exercise and the only symptom they are characterized is chest pains.
However, the researchers had a hard time to determine the real reasons for heart problems found in tested population that close to half of them where extremely overweight, obese.
The researchers assume that non-healthy eating habits along with a poor diet and limited health care are at least partially responsible for the surprising number of undiagnosed heart problems.
To uncover underlying heart conditions that could lead to fatal episodes of sudden cardiac arrest, the researchers used the 20-minute screenings that included using a four-point test: * A physical exam * Electrocardiogram * Echocardiogram (cardiac ultrasound) * Child's health history The only problem that can stop the researchers to do the tests is the budget as EKGs and cardiac ultrasounds tests are costly and they aren't usually included in health insurances.
Higgins from Huston hopes that the million dollar project that the Memorial Hermann Foundation and the Houston Rockets are funding, will convince state legislators to mandate making heart screening for all students in every Texas middle school.
Why Focus on Sixth-graders A sports cardiologist at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston and the Memorial Hermann Sports Medicine Institute Dr.
John Higgins is suggesting making heart exams routine for all U.
S.
sixth-graders.
And there is a good reason for that though.
Preliminary results have been published by the journal Circulation and have been presented at an American Heart Association meeting.
The findings of the heart screenings conducted in sixth-graders at a Houston middle school shocked the researchers.
They were astounded to discover seven six-graders with undiagnosed heart problems, and two of them even required urgent surgery.
Additionally three were diagnosed with Stage 2 hypertension.
As Dr.
Higgins says, it's important to make heart screenings especially in sixth-graders - "We want to save young lives, and we want to promote safe exercise".
At this age the grownups are not yet engaged in sports activities - says Higgins and "we suspect, and other people do, too, that those kids who actually have these conditions are the ones who get out of breath faster and maybe slower".
The study was involving the Key students who were predominantly black and Hispanic.
The purpose of these 20 minute screenings was to diagnose heart problems that usually show up only after exercise and the only symptom they are characterized is chest pains.
However, the researchers had a hard time to determine the real reasons for heart problems found in tested population that close to half of them where extremely overweight, obese.
The researchers assume that non-healthy eating habits along with a poor diet and limited health care are at least partially responsible for the surprising number of undiagnosed heart problems.
To uncover underlying heart conditions that could lead to fatal episodes of sudden cardiac arrest, the researchers used the 20-minute screenings that included using a four-point test: * A physical exam * Electrocardiogram * Echocardiogram (cardiac ultrasound) * Child's health history The only problem that can stop the researchers to do the tests is the budget as EKGs and cardiac ultrasounds tests are costly and they aren't usually included in health insurances.