Intro:
Hi, my name is Isabella! I am a rising senior in high school and have been interested in what happens to some individuals’ hearts that suddenly collapse without a warning. My mom is a Pediatric Cardiologist that has been involved in Championship Hearts Foundation for over 15 years, helping with CHF’s mission on screening Texas teens for undetected heart problems. I grew up tagging along with her when she volunteered at CHF and had many jobs, whether acting as the photographer for PR, snack deliverer, or data merger. While those jobs were fun, I observed hundreds of teens and realized that many did not know the true reason they were getting screened.
One particular time, I conducted a survey and gathered responses on why the teens came, and over half of the responses were either “I play sports” or “I was told to”. That’s when I had the idea to create a junior branch to CHF!
I named it Junior Heart Champs - my goal is to inform you all about sudden cardiac arrest (SCA), which is what the heart screenings strive to prevent. SCA has become more and more prevalent in the news, and I know that with spreading awareness, we can help reduce the number of cases.
I will be posting on Instagram and blogs, such as this one, to inform you all of the different parts to SCA, and therefore, prevent sudden cardiac death.
Please consider joining this youth group and spread this message!
Together, we can make a difference and save lives!
Thank you!!
Isabella Lawrence
What is SCA and SCD?
A sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) occurs when an individual’s heart stops beating suddenly and therefore, pumping blood to the whole body stops
This is usually due to a problem within the electrical system leading to an irregular and weak contraction of the cardiac muscle.
If it’s not treated immediately, SCA can unfortunately lead to sudden cardiac death (SCD), in which a person dies from lack of circulation of blood flow to the body.
Why does SCA/SCD occur?
Can happen if there are underlying heart conditions, which are usually undetected until the moment it happens, in many cases.
The PROBLEM is that SCA can be the first visible sign of a heart problem.
Even if a kid may have been to the doctor every year, nothing was discussed about SCA because of lack of symptoms.
The heart is unable to keep up with the demands of the body during exercise, causing tissues to require more blood supply.
The increased demand and imbalance in hydration stress the heart, leading to SCA
When does SCA/SCD occur?
USUALLY during dynamic exercise in which an individual is active, such as playing soccer, football, basketball, running track, etc.
SCA can also occur within that hour of exercising.
Less frequently, it can happen when a person is inactive (not exercising)
Why is this topic important?
Although very rare, SCD occurs in about 2,000 young Americans under the age of 25 each year, and devastates families, organizations and communities.
Unfortunately, SCA is not talked about enough and therefore, not many people know exactly what it entails.
Thank you all so much for reading this introductory blog. We’ll dive a bit deeper into all things SCA in the next few blogs, but for now, please don’t hesitate to sign up to be part of my JHC group and think about following @junior.heart.champs on Instagram!