Flagler County will now require heart screenings for all student-athletes

By Pamela Comme

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    FLAGLER COUNTY, Florida (WESH) — Heart screenings will now be mandatory for all Flagler County athletes after a vote on Thursday.

Sudden deaths among student-athletes have sparked safety concerns.

This is why in Flagler County, school board member Cheryl Massaro said they passed a mandate requiring all high school athletes to take an EKG, also known as an ECG.

An electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG) is a quick test that measures the electrical activity in your heart. It can tell you whether the rhythm of your heartbeat is steady or irregular.

“You might have that one special youth that has a problem, doesn’t know it might have had an athletic physical and passed every one of them, but they’ve never checked the status of the heart,” Massaro said.

For years, AdventHealth has provided free sports physicals to Flagler and Volusia County student-athletes. They will now be offering ECG screening as part of their partnership with the district.

“Kids have been identified with a heart electrical issue, and they could have, you know, died during practice or a competition, and a simple five-minute noninvasive test can stop that from happening,” Massaro said.

The mandate will also apply to students in ROTC or band.

The hope is they can catch something before it’s too late.

“You know, the Florida heat, especially in August, it’s sometimes… hard to breathe normally,” Massaro said. “And when they’re out there practicing for hours on end or in competition, you know, it puts stress physically on the body.”

Athletes will only have to get one screening throughout their 4-year high school career.

Once the district receives clearance from a pediatric cardiologist, the student is safe to play.

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