|
Click
here to view page to print
Arthur Roberts, M.D.,
founder of the Living Heart Foundation, said 250 student
athletes participated in the Holyoke
screenings in May and June. Initial data
showed:
Cholesterol
- 14% of all students
had cholesterol levels of 200 mg or higher;
- 15% had HDL fraction
of less than 40 mg;
Glucose
- 10% had blood sugar
levels higher than 110 mg;
Blood Pressure
- 13% had elevations of
systolic blood pressure greater than 135mm Hg;
- 3% had elevations of
distolic blood pressure grater than 85mm Hg;
Heart Rate
- 6% had a resting place
of less than 60 beats per minute;
- 4% had a resting pulse
rate of greater than 90 beats per minute;
Body Mass Index/Body
Fat
- 25% had a body mass
index greater than 27;
- 25% had exceeded fat
standards for their gender;
Cardiovascular Profile
(15 questions)
- 50% had one or more
abnormal responses;
Echocardiography
During a full day of
testing on a Saturday and a half day of testing on a
Sunday, 150 students had portable, screening
echogradiograms. Results showed:
- One student with a
thickened heart muscle of 14mm
- One student with a
prolapse of the mitral valve;
- Eight students with
slight to mild heart valve leakage;
- Three involved the
mitral valve
- Three involved the
mitral and tricuspid valves;
- Ten students with left
ventricular size equal to or greater than 53mm.
Overall Preliminary
Results
Excluding abnormal
responses for the cardiovascular history, approximately
one-third of the students had one or more abnormal
results.
"Is that number
higher than we expected? Well, there's really no
way to answer that," Roberts said. "We
didn't know what we would find, because the research on
such problems in youth just doesn't exist. That's
what we're trying to do with these screenings and with
NCSLI: we want to create a statistical database that
will help us track health problems in youth and study
the onset of adult conditions such as high blood
pressure or heart trouble.
"Of course, these screenings
also can help prevent sudden cardiac death,"
Roberts added. "Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy,
one of the leading causes of sudden cardiac death, is
often diagnosed with an echocardiogram."
Reprinted from NATA
NEWS, 1/2002
see
other news about youth programs |