Beaumont Health Services: Student Heart Check

To help keep students safe as they participate in athletics and other activities, Southfield-based Beaumont Health offers free student heart checks that go beyond routine physicals.

Every year, students die from sudden cardiac arrest due to abnormal heart structure or abnormal rhythms. The heart check program aims to help identify young people who are at risk for sudden cardiac arrest.

Going the Extra Mile

The Beaumont Healthy Heart Check Student Heart Screening is designed for students ages 13 to 18. Younger children are not typically screened because structural abnormalities, including abnormal heart muscle thickening — the most common cause of sudden death in the U.S. — do not become apparent until later in adolescence. This type of heart check, which includes a physical examination, blood pressure check, medical history evaluation, electrocardiogram and echocardiogram, is not typically included in a routine physical required before participation in school sports.

Saving Lives

Since the program began in 2007, the Beaumont Healthy Heart Check Student Heart Screening program has seen thousands of Michigan children.

• 15,233 children in Michigan have been screened
• 1,637 have needed to follow up with a doctor
• 186 were advised to stop sports until they follow up with a cardiologist
• 7 have been diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, the most serious detectable heart issue

The sudden death of young competitive athletes during exercise is tragic. With services like Student Heart Screening, Beaumont is raising awareness about symptoms and providing treatment in hopes of preventing deaths from sudden cardiac arrest in young people in the future.