Young Hearts for Life to Provide Free Cardiac Screenings for Lemont Students

With the support of generous donors, Lemont High School is partnering with Young Hearts for Life and Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital to offer all Lemont High School students free cardiac screenings. The Young Hearts for Life (YH4L) Cardiac Screening program will visit Lemont High School on Friday, March 11. All students whose parents/guardians authorize them to be tested will be screened during the school day.

Young Hearts for Life is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that provides free cardiac screenings through an electrocardiogram (i.e., EKG or ECG). These screenings help identify high school students who may be at risk for
sudden cardiac death. More than 130,000 students have been screened since the inception of the YH4L program in 2006. Lemont High School has had more than 1,600 students receive free screenings in its first two YH4L events!

A simple, painless EKG can be used to screen physically active students and detect certain serious heart conditions. Recording the heart’s electrical activity, an EKG can detect approximately 60 percent of the “abnormalities” or markers from heart conditions associated with sudden cardiac death - including conditions that cannot be detected through a regular physical. EKG testing is recommended every two years, through the age of 25.

Registration

Parents/guardians are encouraged to discuss EKG screenings with their children. This program is open to all students-athletes and non-athletes, alike - and students’ confidentiality, privacy and modesty will be respected throughout all aspects of the program. Boys and girls will be screened in separate areas, and results will be shared ONLY with parents. No one at Lemont High School will have access to the results of these screenings.

Parents/guardians who wish to register their children may do so online by visiting Lemont High School’s Web site - www.lhs210.net - and clicking on the “YH4L Cardiac Screenings” banner on the home page. A registration link is available on the right side of the page. It is important that current students who were tested during the most recent YH4L visit in 2014 be tested again in 2016.

Volunteers Needed

Lemont High School and YH4L are seeking both male and female adult volunteers to assist with EKG screenings. Many types of volunteer positions are available; volunteers do not need to have a medical background. Volunteers are needed to check in students, to be “runners,” to apply patches for EKG leads, and to assist in other ways.

Volunteers are needed both for morning and afternoon shifts on March 11. Volunteer training is mandatory, and will be held during the evening on Thursday, March 10. Those interested in volunteering should visit the “YH4L Cardiac Screenings” banner on the school’s home page and complete the volunteer sign-up form on the right side of the page. Please contact a volunteer coordinator via e-mail at lhsheartscreen@gmail.com with any questions.

Donations

Members of the school’s Athletic Council will be collecting donations to support the YH4L program at Lemont’s home boys’ basketball games on Tuesday, February 16, and Friday, February 19. Individuals who are interested in making a donation also can contact Director of Activities & Athletics John Young.

For more information on the Young Hearts for Life Cardiac Screening program, contact YH4L’s Kathy Marek at (630) 785-4366, or visit the YH4L Web site at www.yh4l.org. Questions also may be directed to Lemont High School Director of Activities & Athletics John Young (jyoung@lhs210.net) at (630) 243-3210.