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Something very unique happened on April 11 at the 2010 HMG Health & Fitness Expo.
HMG physicians, St. Bernards Sports Medicine staff and other St. Bernards healthcare professionals conducted free physicals for students entering grades 7-12 who will take part next year in school sports programs in five Jonesboro area school districts. That’s something that does not occur in very many communities across this country.
But there’s something that made it even more unusual. The student athletes entering grades 9-12 sports underwent the usual comprehensive sports physicals … but in addition, each had an electrocardiogram done at no charge. That single feature mades the HMG Expo sports physicals a one-of-a-kind event for the United States.
The ECGs were done with the assistance of Cardiology Associates, with special funding from a grant underwritten by Boston Scientific.
HMG physicians volunteered their time to see all the 2010-2011 school year athletes in Jonesboro, Valley View, Nettleton, Westside and Ridgefield Christian School. That included about 1,000 local athletes. (All students are required to have physicals completed prior to participating in school athletic programs.)
The screenings were offered at no charge. The effort benefits families of athletes, coaches and the athletes themselves. Because of the one-stop approach to the screening, parents do not have to schedule physical exams with their individual family physicians then get youngsters into doctors’ offices for the appointments. And, obviously, they do not incur the expense involved in physician appointments.
Coaches benefit because they can assemble all their athletes in one place at one time and do not have to wonder about some students missing exam appointments with family physicians.
The ECGs performed this year add a layer of sophistication to exams that puts this community head and shoulders above any other community in the U.S. The 12-lead ECGs can detect diseases with heart rhythm that may put young athletes at increased risk for sudden cardiac death.
A study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine (a publication of the American College of Physicians) indicates that every year, more than 90 competitive young athletes die unexpectedly in the United States. And most of those deaths are attributed to underlying structural heart disease.
The article notes that though the risk for sudden cardiac death for the young competitive-athletes is low – 2 per 100,000 – it is more than two and a half times that of the age-matched non-athlete population. The risk for sudden cardiac death increases with increasing peak intensity of level of competition.
The use of ECGs in screenings – when added to focused personal histories, family histories and physical exams – helps detect cardiac abnormalities in young athletes. It is a proven way to save lives of young athletes.
School athlete physicals were held Sunday afternoon as a part of the activities of the last day of the 2010 HMG Expo at the Convocation Center on the Arkansas State University campus.
St. Bernards Sports Medicine partnered with Jonesboro, Valley View, Nettleton and Westside school districts by providing another unique service – placing certified athletic trainers in the schools at no cost to the districts. The certified athletic trainers work with coaches and students and are on hand for practices as well as games.