Schools
Free Heart Screenings Offered to CLC Students
Screens for Teens events organized by the Max Schewitz Foundation are designed to help prevent sudden cardiac death in young people.
A total of 500 students will be offered a free heart screening Sept. 14 as part of the Max Schewitz Foundation’s Screens for Teens.
The event is aimed at raising awareness of hidden and potentially life-threatening cardiac conditions in young adults.
“Information is power and in this case may even save a life,” said Michelle Grace of the .
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In 2005, Max Schewitz of Lake Bluff helped his mom move a dresser out to the garage, and then went to work. The healthy 20-year-old later fainted. After he was revived, he had a friend drive him to an emergency room nearby to get checked out. Within moments of arriving at the hospital, Max went into fatal cardiac arrest.
Max had no previous medical conditions or warning signs.
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His parents began the Max Schewitz Foundation to help prevent sudden cardiac death in young people, something Mary Beth Schewitz says even she was unfamiliar with before her son’s death.
“There is not a national registry and the statistics on kids who die of SCD are very inconsistent,” Schewitz said. “The research is lacking.”
Schewitz feels routine physicals and doctor exams on otherwise healthy kids just aren’t enough to recognize a possible heart condition. “It’s just not adequate to get the family history, use the stethoscope and test their blood pressure,” Schewitz said.
The foundation ultimately would like to see EKG testing as part of the standard of care among physicians in the United States. At this point, the American Heart Association does not require that.
“You have to be your own advocate,” Schewitz said in putting the testing up front and available for young adults by offering it to area high school and college students.
More than 18,300 high school students have received free EKG testing from the foundation so far. About 238 students failed their test, but what they learned may have saved their lives.
This is the first time Screens for Teens is visiting a local college, thanks to a grant from the College of Lake County Foundation.
Bill Devore, CFRE, executive director of the College of Lake County Foundation, said they are happy to support the initiative.
“These screenings will help raise awareness of hidden, potentially life-threatening, cardiac conditions in young adults and will serve students well as they begin making life choices that will impact their health in the future,” Devore said.
The first 500 students between the ages of 18 and 28 who register will receive the free screenings on Sept. 14. Certain students, depending on their EKG results, also will receive an echocardiogram on-site.
Registration is now open online through the Max Schewitz Foundation's website or College of Lake County's website.
Future Screens for Teens testing events include:
- — Sept. 14
- St. Viator — Sept. 21
- Vernon Hills High School — Sept. 28
- Stevenson High School — Oct. 11-13
- Glenbrook South High School — Oct. 26
- Antioch High School — Nov. 9
- Glenbrook North High School — Nov. 16-17
- Lake Zurich High School — Feb.8, 2012
- Warren Township High School, Almond Campus — Feb. 29, 2012
- Warren Township High School, O’Plaine Campus — March 7, 2012
For more information, log on to the Max Schewitz Foundation’s website.
