Young Hearts For Life Provide Cardiac Screenings For LHS Students

LEMONT, IL — Lemont High School will once again partner with Young Hearts for Life to offer all Lemont High School students free cardiac screenings. The Young Hearts for Life cardiac screening program will visit Lemont High School Thursday, March 26.

All students who have their parents/guardians authorize them to be tested will be screened during the school day, the school said. These free screenings are made possible through event sponsors Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital and the just1mike Foundation.

Young Hearts for Life is a nonprofit organization that provides free cardiac screenings through an electrocardiogram. According to LHS, these screenings help identify high school students who may be at risk for sudden cardiac death. Lemont High School has had more than 3,400 students receive free screenings in its first four events.

An EKG can be used to screen students and detect certain serious heart conditions, the school said. Recording the heart’s electrical activity, an EKG can detect approximately 60 percent of the abnormalities from heart conditions associated with sudden cardiac death - including conditions that cannot be detected through a regular physical. The school said EKG testing is recommended every two years, through the age of 25.

The school said parents can register their student online. The program is open to all students, and results will only be shared with parents, not the school.

Adult volunteers are also needed to assist with the screenings, the school said. Volunteers are needed to check in students, to be “runners,” to apply patches for EKG leads, and to assist in other ways. Morning and afternoon shifts March 26 are open, and there will be a mandatory volunteer training March 25. If you'd like to volunteer, you can sign up online.