Dear Editor:
We are writing to urge your readers to press our New Jersey state educators, school systems and legislators to support the placement of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in New Jersey schools and provide support for AED and CPR training programs. We would also like to urge consideration of the introduction of universal electrocardiogram (EKG) screening to help detect heart defects and abnormalities among our children and young athletes.
During the past week a 19-year-old College of New Jersey freshman and former Vernon High School swimming star died of cardiac arrest. The cause of death was believed to be an undiagnosed heart condition. In November, an East Orange High School student died of sudden cardiac arrest while playing a pick-up basketball game. He had an undiagnosed enlarged heart. Last spring, a Camden County student died of sudden cardiac arrest, also caused by an undiagnosed heart condition. My husband, Avi, and I have a very personal interest in this issue. On April 15, 2000, our athletic and very healthy looking 11-year-old daughter, Danielle, died as a result of a sudden cardiac arrest. The cause of our daughter’s death was an undiagnosed heart condition called long Q-T syndrome.
Long Q-T syndrome is a very treatable disorder but it cannot be detected during a routine medical examination. LQTS can be diagnosed by doing an EKG. However, children who appear to be healthy are never given an EKG, and many cases remain undiagnosed until tragedy strikes. The two symptoms of LQTS are fainting and cardiac arrest. If a child or young adult has a history of fainting he or she should see a cardiologist familiar with LQTS for an EKG. Tragically, in many cases, the child is entirely asymptomatic, as our daughter was, until a fatal cardiac arrest claims the child’s life. In a medical/scientific statement issued by the American Heart Association in 1998, “LQTS was found to be frequently unrecognized clinically, but acknowledged as a cause of sudden cardiac arrest or sudden death in young, apparently healthy people, including competitive athletes.”
These tragic stories of New Jersey children and young athletes dying from sudden cardiac arrest due to undiagnosed heart ailments seem to be on the rise. The American Heart Association calls sudden cardiac arrest a “major unresolved public health issue” that claims the lives of at least 220,000 people annually. In March 2001, the Center for Disease Control released a study reporting that sudden cardiac deaths jumped 10 percent for teens and young adults from 1989 to 1996.
We are certain that many New Jersey parents have tragic stories similar to ours. They had no family history of heart disease, and they were unaware of their child’s condition. How many New Jersey children, teenagers and young adults will die suddenly from undiagnosed heart conditions and heart defects before something is done? What can we do in New Jersey?
Implementing electrocardiogram testing is one preventative means to address the issue. In a study released at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions in November, enhanced screening of young athletes was urged, including an electrocardiogram (EKG) test. But why not screen all children at a certain age? The cost of EKG screening is not great but its potential to save many young lives is.
The other way to help address this issue is more reactive, but extremely important. All New Jersey schools should have automatic external defibrillators, and AED and CPR training should be provided to teachers and students. This type of training should be integrated into health or physical education classes. Every school in the Millburn Township School System and in the Neptune Township School System has a defibrillator. A number of other New Jersey schools have defibrillators, and a handful of schools do offer students CPR training.
As the American Heart Association points out, the only effective treatment for a person in cardiac arrest is an electrical shock to the heart and the chance of the survival decreases 7-10 percent for each minute that goes by. Early 9-1-1, Early CPR and Early Defibrillation need to take place within five minutes of onset for the victim to have the best chance of survival.
Please, let’s consider EKG screening for all New Jersey children and young athletes. Also, we encourage all New Jersey schools to implement AED and CPR programs.
Sharon and Avi Brender
Millburn, NJ
Editor’s Note: The Brender family has requested that their e-mail address be published (sharonbrender@aol.com) They would like to hear from other New Jersey families.