Free student heart screenings available next month

Tuesday, March 5, 2013
© Copyright 2013 Gwinnett Daily Post

Next month, Gwinnett middle school and high school students will be offered a free heart screening.

A Philadelphia nonprofit organization, Simon's Fund, has provided free heart screenings for seven years, checked 5,500 hearts and heart conditions in 49 students were discovered.

The screenings will be held at the Cardiovascular Group in Lawrenceville at 755 Walther Road, administered by doctors from the practice.

Simon's Fund reached out to officials in Gwinnett after it learned of the recent deaths of Ryan Daniel, a Buford football coach and Buford students Adam Smith and Jeremy Nelson.

Each screening should take 30 to 40 minutes, and will be available from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 7.

Each screening will include an ECG exam, physical and an echocardiogram, if needed. Doctors will notify a student if any issues are found, and referred to a cardiologist for a followup, if needed.

Based on past screenings, one out of every 100 students will discover an undetected heart condition, according to a school newsletter.

Registration opens on Wednesday. There are 300 spots available. You can register at simonsfund.org/get-screened/register. For more information, email info@simonsfund.org.

Gwinnett Daily Post