Description

Washington State University Vanouver nursing students are partnering with the Quinn Driscoll Foundation and Southwest Washington Medical Center to offer free advanced heart screenings to student athletes in Clark County. The Young Champions Heart Screening Clinic will take place 8 a.m. - 4 p.m., Feb. 26 at Southwest Washington Medical Center's Heart and Vascular Center in the Firstenburg Tower, located at 400 N.E. Mother Joseph Place in Vancouver. The clinic provides youth with the opportunity to have a comprehensive cardiac screening at no cost. Screenings include a questionnaire, blood pressure check, electrocardiogram, echocardiogram and cardiologist consultation. The Young Champions Heart Screening Clinic aims to detect hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a serious heart condition that is the leading cause of sudden cardiac death in young athletes. HCM exists in roughly one out of every 500 individuals. Approximately one case of sudden cardiac death occurs every three days in organized youth sports across the United States. Any Clark County middle or high school athlete, band member or cheerleader 13-18-years old is eligible for a Young Champions Heart Screening. Although designed for the student athlete, all children in the age group are welcome who have a family history of HCM and may be at risk. Registration is required. To schedule a student heart screening, register online at www.swmedicalcenter.org or call 360-514-7755. Although there is no charge for the screening, a suggested $25 donation to the Quinn Driscoll Foundation is appreciated to support future screening events. The Quinn Driscoll Foundation is named for 13-year-old Quinn Driscoll, a student athlete at Wy' East Middle School who died in 2009 after suffering cardiac arrest while running on the track during gym class. Quinn's sudden cardiac arrest took his life without symptoms and was caused by hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. From his tragic death, the Driscoll family established the Quinn Dri