WHAT CAN A PARENT DO?

The best method for detecting most heart anomalies is an echocardiogram, a test normally performed at hospitals or physicians clinics when symptoms warrant. These tests are expensive though and are generally not covered by insurance when no symptoms are present. It is often the very lack of symptoms though that make Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD) among student athletes that much more surprising and tragic. Now however, with the availability of portable ultra-sound equipment, echocardiograms can conveniently be performed right at school where student athletes can quickly be scanned.