Back to School Checklist Should Include EKG for Your Teen

Chicago area students are heading back to school now. Parents are buying school supplies and new clothes, but they probably aren't thinking about scheduling an EKG test for their child. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now estimate 2,000 Americans under the age of 25 will die of sudden cardiac arrest in the coming year. It’s the leading cause of death on school property.

The Max Schewitz Foundation kicks off its eighth year of providing EKG-based cardiac screening program on Aug. 29, 2016 at Lake Forest High School. All participants will receive an EKG and some selected by the cardiologists will also receive a free echocardiogram during screening.

The Foundation will offer heart checks to students at ten high schools during the 2016-17 school year, with the potential of reaching 15,000 students. The program’s mission is to identify students who are at risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD) before they are stricken so they can obtain treatment.

“Unfortunately, every week we hear about young adults who have suffered sudden cardiac death across the country,” said Mary Beth Schewitz, executive director of The Max Schewitz Foundation. “We wish EKG screening would become the standard of care in the U.S., like it is in other countries. Until then, we will continue offering our program to students in Illinois and Wisconsin. We always find at least one child with an undiagnosed heart condition at every school we test.”

In 2005, Max died suddenly and unexpectedly at age 20 from an undiagnosed cardiac condition. Like so many others victims of SCD, Max had no previous medical conditions or warning signs. If he had been diagnosed, life-saving treatments could have been implemented.

EKGs and echocardiograms are interpreted on site by a team of cardiologists under the direction of Dr. Eli Lavie, Medical Director of the Max Schewitz Foundation. The Foundation's hope is that EKG tests will become a part of student’s routine physical exams.

2016 Screens for Teens testing dates:

· Aug 17, 2016 - Lake Forest Academy (limited to not previously tested students)

· Aug 29, 2016 - Lake Forest HS, Register Now

· Sep 10, 2016 - Bulls/Sox Academy (Invitation only)

· Sep 14, 2016 - Lakes Community HS, Register Now

· Sep 21, 2016 - Mundelein HS, Register Now

· Oct 05, 2016 - New Trier HS (Grade 9 only), Register Now

· Oct 26, 2016 to Oct 27, 2016 - Glenbrook South HS, Register Now

· Nov 02, 2016 to Nov 03, 2016 - Glenbrook North HS, Register Now

· Nov 16, 2016 - Deerfield HS, Register Now

· Dec 07, 2016 - North Chicago HS, Register Now

· Mar 22, 2017 - Libertyville HS

About The Max Schewitz Foundation

Based in Lake Bluff, Ill., The Max Schewitz Foundation’s dual missions reflect Max’s life and death. His parents and family friends started the Foundation in 2005 after 20-year-old Max died suddenly from a cardiac arrhythmia. The Foundation works to prevent sudden cardiac death (SCD) in young people and to promote conservation of fragile reptile species and their ecosystems. To date, over 56,000 students in Illinois and Wisconsin have received EKG testing from the Foundation and 1,000 students were given limited echocardiograms. The Foundation has found more than 1,300 students who required further medical evaluation. To learn more, call Mary Beth Schewitz at (847) 234-2206 or follow us on Twitter and Facebook.