TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WXL) — Keeping students safe by checking for abnormal heart conditions.
That's what a Tallahassee middle school is doing.
Deer Lake Middle School is giving free electrocardiogram (ECG) scans to 6th grade students.
The scans are provided by the Who We Run For organization through a $50,000 grant from Simply Healthcare and the Leon County Schools foundation.
Sixth grade is when school athletics usually ramp up and is the perfect time to screen.
ABC 27 spoke with a cardiac arrest survivor's mother about the risk of late detection.
"Had she not been with us at the time, had she been off by herself, she probably more than likely wouldn't have made it. When you have an out of hospital cardiac arrest your percentage is less than 5 percent," Vicki Williams, a mother of a cardiac survivor, said.
ECG records the electrical signal from the heart to check for heart conditions.
Sudden cardiac arrest is the leading cause of death among student athletes.
The screenings will take place at all Leon County schools between March 22nd and April 1st.
