Orlando, Fla. (April 28, 2021) -- Nemours Children’s Health System commends Orange County Public Schools for taking the important step of requiring heart screenings before student athletes participate in sports to prevent possible sudden cardiac arrest.
Dr. Gul Dadlani, Nemours Children’s Hospital Chief of Cardiology, presented his clinical experience and research to the school system to explain that giving heart screenings to student athletes identifies heart irregularities such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, the most common cause of sudden cardiac in young adults.
He has volunteered with non-profit organizations such as Who We Play For to read these screenings for Brevard and Osceola School Districts over the last several years.
With the more than 8 million high school students playing sports in the U.S, one in 40,000 may experience sudden cardiac arrest. A screening may also reveal that 1 in 300 young athletes have an underlying form of cardiovascular disease.
Screening student athletes can and will save lives.
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About Nemours Children’s Health System
Nemours is an internationally recognized children's health system that owns and operates the two free-standing children’s hospitals: the Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Del., and Nemours Children's Hospital in Orlando, Fla., along with outpatient facilities in five states, delivering pediatric primary, specialty and urgent care. Nemours also powers the world’s most-visited website for information on the health of children and teens, KidsHealth.org, and offers on-demand, online video patient visits through Nemours CareConnect. Nemours ReadingBrightstart.org is a program dedicated to preventing reading failure in young children, grounded in Nemours’ understanding that child health and learning are inextricably linked, and that reading level is a strong predictor of adult health.
Established as The Nemours Foundation through the legacy and philanthropy of Alfred I. duPont, Nemours provides pediatric clinical care, research, education, advocacy and prevention programs to families in the communities it serves.
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