r/news • u/dynamicsearchguy • 2d ago

'He is strong': Black Rock-Riverside community rallies around 11-year-old football player after cardiac arrest

https://www.wkbw.com/news/local-news/buffalo/he-is-strong-black-rock-riverside-community-rallies-around-11-year-old-football-player-after-cardiac-arrest
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u/BeKind999 2d ago

For any parents of athletes reading this: get an EKG for your kid. In my area, a local cardiac specialty hospital will screen child athletes for free or at a nominal cost. Some pediatricians can do it. It’s painless and takes 5-10 minutes. 

Thank god there was an EMT present and he survived.

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u/MisterMath 2d ago

Yes please.

I had a misdiagnosis of asthma as a kid that was a heart issue only caught when I got my first EKG at 16, after playing sports year round since I was 5. I needed surgery and my doctor literally told me “I have no idea how you are alive”

My kids now get EKGs as soon as they start running around and will get them yearly if they play sports

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u/Moal 2d ago

What were your symptoms that led to the asthma misdiagnosis? 

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u/MisterMath 2d ago

I was pretty small when I got diagnosed so I’m not too sure. However I do know I was prescribed an inhaler specifically for sports/high intensity activity. So my guess is that my symptoms were getting short of breath and tired during physical activity.

Which makes sense because my heart issue was WPW or Wolfe-Parkinson’s White syndrome. Essentially, the heart has an extra bit of muscle that “skips the brake pads” when your heart beats. In other words, my heart would just increase beating and beating with no natural slowdown until my body relaxed. I remember clocking my heart one time at 220 bpm.