New Book Explores How Hidden Heart Risk Needlessly Claims Young Lives
New book asks: "Is your child at risk for HCM (sudden cardiac death) during school sports?" One in 500 are. Informed parents can prevent it.
(PRWEB) July 12, 2005 -- Author Christian Wilde, in his groundbreaking book
of cardiovascular risk factors and their solutions, titled “Hidden Causes of
Heart Attack and Stroke,” which can be found on www.abigon.com, offers a lifesaving, "common sense" grass
roots financing concept for early detection for all school age
children.
HCM is the leading cause of death, affecting one in 500 people
and particularly striking those in their very young years. Hypertrophic
cardiomyopathy (a congenital heart defect) involves a thickening of the heart
muscle affecting the heart’s ability to pump. HCM also causes arrhythmic
disturbances which can result in sudden cardiac death. The American Heart
Association outlined recommendations for testing students more than seven years
ago but because of the associated costs, the recommendations have not been
widely implemented.
Wilde’s book explores different examples of HCM
occurrences. HCM strikes without warning, affecting active youngsters involved
in any form of physical activity. Conversely, many young victims who died were
not active at all at the time of attack. One 12-year-old was simply walking home
from school, another was leaning over to tie his shoe and others were struck
during pre-game warm-ups.
The majority of cases however, occurred during
actual competition as with basketball star Hank Gathers. There is the 2003 case
of a 17-year-old Georgia high school defensive lineman Ryan Boslet-whose life of
promise was abruptly ended by HCM during a pre-season football training session.
Parents are not supposed to outlive their children and parents of HCM victims
stuggle to make sense of the loss. Often, in memory of their child and to bring
some sense of closure they organize or join proactive non-profit
organizations--Holly Morrell works with A Heart For Sports in Orange County CA.
Sandy and Chris Boslet lend their support to Atlanta based Heart Screens for
Teens. Ryan's father Chris Boslet, in his determination that his son and other
sons would not have died in vain has been effective in having the Ryan Boslet
early screening and detection bill passed by the Georgia legislature. This
condition can claim someone’s life in any sport as physical activity increases
the risk as much as three times compared to youngsters who are less
active.
Dr. Barry Maron, leading authority on HCM at the Minneapolis
Heart Institute believes as many as 300 kids a year may have died because of
this hidden killer. “Hidden Causes of Heart Attack and Stroke” includes the
story of Chuck Morrell and his family. The book explains the tragedy of how 6
members of one family all died victims of this hidden killer. HCM often runs in
families and included here is another family's story testifying to the
importance of how proactive screening saved an Arizona family from a similar
devastating fate that had earlier befallen the Morrell family.
Doug
McWhorter, a 17-year old basketball player luckily accepted the invitation by
TOPS in Arizona. Under the watchful eye of William Rappaport of the famed
Arizona Heart Institute of Phoenix Arizona, the athlete was discovered to have
inherited (HCM). Aware that the dysfunction often strikes other family members
the McWhorter family was encouraged to also be screened. Two additional members
of Doug's family-including his father, were diagnosed as having the same
previously undiscovered life threatening genetic dysfunction.
The book's
author has long believed in the fight against HCM. Years earlier, as a
songwriter he had written a minor teen hit that mirrored an actual HCM death of
a high school running back. Joey's Last Big Game -- "Fifteen cheers they gave
for Joey but he never heard a single one, for Joey died that Friday night, at
the game that he had won."
Christian Wilde believes, the only way to
assure your boy or girl's safety is to have them tested by ultrasound which is
much more effective than an EKG. As a general rule the only time this test gets
administered is if the child has presented with a heart murmur, had difficult
breathing or possibly experienced fainting-however the sudden death candidate
may not have exhibited any of these symptoms prior to the event. These patients
get overlooked as potential victims. The good news is, if HCM is found in time,
implantation of a device like a defibrillator can pretty well assure the patient
of a normal lifespan. The book's information urges parents to read the book's
plan to organize against HCM and to get their children tested. Book is available
at 800 214-8110 or abigon.com
# # #
Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/7/prweb255948.htm