Young Hearts for Life Provides Free Cardiac Screenings For LHS students

LEMONT, IL — Lemont High School is partnering with Young Hearts for Life and Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital to offer all LHS students free cardiac screenings. According to a release from the school, the Young Hearts for Life (YH4L) Cardiac Screening program will visit Lemont High School on Thursday, Sept. 21. 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) nonprofit organization that provides free cardiac screenings through an electrocardiogram, according to the release. These screenings help identify high school students who may be at risk for sudden cardiac death. More than 170,000 students have been screened since the inception of the YH4L program in 2006. LHS has had more than 2,500 students receive free screenings in its first three YH4L events.

A simple, painless EKG can be used to screen physically active students and detect certain serious heart conditions. According to the release, 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.

Parents/guardians are encouraged to discuss EKG screenings with their children. LHS said 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.

Volunteers are also needed to assist with EKG screenings. According to the release, 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 Sept. 21. Volunteer training is mandatory, and will be held during the evening on Wednesday, Sept. 20. According to the release, 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. Contact volunteer coordinator Laura Nagel at nagel7@sbcglobal.net with any questions.

For more information on the Young Hearts for Life Cardiac Screening program, contact YH4L’s Kathy Altosino 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.