Screening for sudden death in teen athletes at Cincinnati Children's Hospital | News

MASON, OH (FOX19) - While sudden death in teens is rare, it usually occurs during physical activity, such as a sporting event.  By screening athletes, however, it may be possible to identify previously undiagnosed heart problems associated with sudden cardiac events.

On Sunday, November 13, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center will begin a research project to determine whether a new screening protocol is effective in identifying teen athletes at risk for sudden death.  Cincinnati Children’s will screen 100 teenagers for risk factors between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. at Cincinnati Children’s Mason Campus.  The facility is located at 9560 Children’s Drive.

The screening is being done in conjunction with Simon’s Fund, a foundation established in 2005 by Darren Sudman, a 1988 Sycamore High School graduate, to raise awareness of sudden cardiac death in student athletes.  Sudman’s three-month-old son, Simon, died in his sleep in 2005 from Long QT syndrome, a congenital disease of the heart’s electrical system.

Over the next 12 months, Cincinnati Children’s will test 1000 child and teen athletes in the Cincinnati area who are participating in organized physical activities.  Participants will complete a survey regarding their personal and family medical history, get a physical exam and have an electrocardiogram – a test that records electrical activity of the heart, and an echocardiogram – an ultrasound of the heart.

The screenings will take place between 8 am and 3 pm. The research is being led by Jeffrey Anderson, MD, a cardiologist in the Cincinnati Children’s Heart Institute.

Darren Sudman, who now lives in Philadelphia, will be present at the November 13 screening, which is being conducted in memory of the death of Jose Cerda Navarro.  Cerda was a senior at Sycamore High School who died during swimming practice in 2010.