School News

Clinical findings, work-up, treatment, long-term management, and athlete preparticipation screening guidelines are discussed in an article published in the July issue of Post Graduate Medicine. Researchers state that knowledge of sudden cardiac death in young athletes is imperative for all physicians and allied health professionals. The complete differential diagnosis of a young patient with sudden cardiac arrest will result in proper work-up and treatment. In this article, researchers review several etiologies of sudden cardiac death, including hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy, Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, long QT syndrome, Brugada syndrome, and commotio cordis.

SOURCE: Michael S. Westrol, BA; Raffi Kapitanyan, MD; Andreia Marques-Baptista, MD; And Mark A. Merlin, DO, Post Graduate Medicine, July 2010

Jackson, Wyo. – River Rangers from the Jackson Ranger District of the Bridger-Teton National Forest were involved in a rescue effort on the Snake River last Friday afternoon. That's when a private rafting party of Boy Scouts arrived at Sheep Gulch Boat Ramp on the Snake River with a 16-year-old male in acute cardiac arrest receiving cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

Forest Service River Rangers, nearby commercial river guides, and party members assisted with CPR while river rangers retrieved and deployed an on-site automated external defibrillator (AED). The use of the AED led to the victim regaining pulse and breathing at the boat ramp prior to a very prompt arrival and transport of the victim by Alpine Ambulance to Star Valley Medical Center (SVMC) where the patient was treated and later transported to Children’s’ Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah. 

Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) survivor Olivia Quigley and her family appeared on Boston Med on Thursday, July 22, at 10pm (EDT) on ABC-TV.

Olivia collapsed during her first grade gym class at East Boston Catholic School, and Olivia’s teachers performed CPR until Boston EMS arrived. They used an automated external defibrillator (AED)  to get her heart restarted before taking her to Massachusetts General Hospital.

Paramedic Students Create Social Media Buzz to Raise Awareness of CPR and AEDs

MONTREAL — A Quebec coroner says a 12-year-old boy who died after a schoolyard fight would have had a better chance of survival if there had been a defibrillator nearby.

Yanick Charpentier died after an argument with a girl during morning recess at his Montreal-area school in November 2007.

Charpentier suffered from a heart defect and was struck during the altercation, but experts testified that neither his condition nor the punch individually caused his death.

Coroner Andree Kronstrom says Charpentier's death was caused by a combination of factors including the emotions, the physical exertion, the fight and his medical condition.

Kronstrom says in her findings that Charpentier might have had a better chance at survival if the school or the police force had been
equipped with a portable defibrillator.

We're thrilled to partner with IWearYourShirt.com today to celebrate National CPR/AED Awareness Week and to spread the word about how you can save a life. We want you to celebrate too, so we're issuing a video challenge!
 

Measure in Memory of Andrew Helgeson, Who Was High School Senior When He Died from SCA on May 25, 2005

Governor Martin O’Malley proclaimed May 25, 2010 Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Day in Maryland in memory of Andrew Helgeson, who died from sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) five years ago at age 18.
 
Described as "the epitome of health," R. Andrew Helgeson was only days from graduating from Mont Blair High School in Silver Spring, MD, and was to pick up the school's Scholar/Athlete Award the day he died. Andrew had a full college academic scholarship and was looking forward to playing starting lacrosse goalie at Fairleigh Dickinson University.  The first sign that something was wrong was his death.
 

Chatham, N.J.--The Fourth Annual Walk With Heart fundraiser, in memory of a Chatham teen who died of sudden cardiac arrest, is scheduled for Sunday, May 16, at The Pingry School in Martinsville. The walk benefits the John Taylor Babbitt Foundation, which works to prevent sudden cardiac death. The Walk With Heart is sponsored by the JTB Foundation and is organized by students in The Pingry School's JTB Club.

Registration begins at 10 a.m. and the walk starts at 10:30 a.m. The Pingry School is reached from Exit 33 on Route 78. For more information visit www.jtbfoundation.org. All participants will receive an event T-shirt as well as complimentary food and beverages.
Music, a raffle, and prizes are planned, and representatives from Atlantic Health Systems will be demonstrating the use of automated external defibrillators (AEDs).

OKLAHOMA CITY -- An Oklahoma teen is being called a miracle after dying then being brought back to life.

Seventeen-year-old Josh Girty is recovering at the Children's Center in Bethany after he suffered cardiac arrest a couple of weeks ago during a Christian concert at the Ford Center.

Paramedics told his mother he actually died, but they were able to use a defibrillator to bring him back to life.

Josh's mother said she spent her three-hour drive from Alva praying.

"Just lifting him up to God. I've done that all my life. He's my child, and I love him but ultimately he's God's not mine," said Laura Girty, Josh's mom.

Doctors diagnosed Josh with a rare genetic heart defect with a 20-percent survival rate. He has one surgery and a couple more weeks of therapy.

His mom thinks God saved him for a reason and said his goal is to be a missionary.

SOURCE: News on 6