Heart smart: Schools approve screening tests

Each year, nearly 5,000 students across the country fall victim to sudden cardiac arrest, but Wakefield school officials are taking preventative measures to detect any heart problems. Last Tuesday, the School Committee unanimously approved a vote to implement heart-screening tests for students starting in the seventh grade.

Curtis Muldrew, the chief information officer for HeartScreen America, made a presentation to the Wakefield School Committee last week about the importance of early heart screening.

“There are children dying in this country of sudden cardiac arrest,” Muldrew said. “This issue is something that is just not in the forefront.”

Muldrew said a typical screening for a large school takes about five days. Students are screened using an electrocardiogram (EKG). The EKG measures the rate and regularity of heartbeats, as well as the size of the heart chambers.

“The EKG is very effective in detecting those cardiac arrests and abnormalities,” Muldrew said. The machines are between 95 to 97 percent effective in finding heart abnormalities.

“There is no test that is 100 percent perfect,” Muldrew said. He recommended using body mass index tests and physical examinations to complement the EKG reading.

“There is no cost, no liability (to Wakefield Public Schools),” said School Committee chairman Chris Callanan.

Parents are responsible for the cost of the screening, which currently runs $49.

Screenings will be available to the entire community, but appointments must be made in advance. Check the Wakefield Public Schools Web site, www.wakefield.k12.ma.us, in the fall for more information about screening dates.