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TAMPA FAMILIES HAIL SAFEBEAT HEART SCREENINGS FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

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CONTACT:
Christina Johnson
The SafeBeat Initiative
850.339.5773 Cell
850.391.5040 Office
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The SafeBeat Initiative Participates in 15^th Annual Back-to-School Bash

Local Tampa Families Impacted by SafeBeat Heart Screenings Discuss Life Saving Program

(Tampa, FL) –The SafeBeat Initiative team will participate in the 15^th Annual Back-to-School Bash being held at the Tampa Convention Center on Saturday, August 21 and Sunday, August 22.  The media is invited to hear personal stories of the importance of the SafeBeat heart screening program taking place in all Hillsborough County High Schools, including a post surgery update from Connor Moore, a Plant High School athlete who was found to have a heart arrhythmia during the March screening event.

THE SAFEBEAT INITIATIVE MEDIA AVAILABILITY

Saturday, August 21, 2010

11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.*

All About Kids 15^th Annual Back-to-School Bash

Tampa Convention Center / Booth #45

333 South Franklin Street
Tampa, FL 33602-5369

*ONE-ON-ONE INTERVIEWS

Lee Moore, mother of Plant High School athlete Connor Moore

Connor Moore, heart arrhythmia found through SafeBeat screening, with follow up surgery

Drake Williams, Wharton High School athlete, who survived a sudden cardiac arrest

Please contact Christina Johnson via cell at 850.339.5773 or  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to confirm a time for individual interviews with Lee Moore, Connor Moore and Drake Williams.

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Editors Note:

The Moore Family – Lee Moore, mother of 16-year old son Connor Moore knows firsthand the importance of the SafeBeat heart screening program.  Connor, a member of Plant High School’s basketball and track team, was found to have a heart arrhythmia known as Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome (WPW) during the March screening.  In less than 24 hours from the initial abnormal reading on the EKG, they were meeting with Dr. Gul Dadlani of All Children’s Hospital for further tests and consultation.  In a follow up to his diagnosis, Connor recently had heart surgery on June 30 which found and repaired the affected areas in his heart.  He is rested and ready to get back on the basketball court.

Drake Williams - Williams is a Wharton High School senior who collapsed in 2009 during a routine basketball practice due to sudden cardiac arrest. Brought back to life by onsite paramedics, it was a miracle he lived. It was a combination of sheer luck and the paramedics “being in the right place at the right time” that saved his life.  To date, his doctor is unable to find a cause for his sudden cardiac arrest. A preventative heart screening could have given signs that something was about to happen.  Today, Drake has an Internal Defibrillator and has been released to participate on Wharton High School's basketball and track team.   Drake and his mother Monzita Williams, strongly encourage others to take note of this preventable life-threatening syndrome through heart screening and education. "Your Life is the most precious thing you can lose.”

About The SafeBeat Initiative

The Cardiac Arrhythmia Syndromes (CAS) Foundation, in collaboration with All Children’s Specialty Physicians (www.allkids.org) and Hillsborough County Public Schools (www.sdhc.k12.fl.us) is offering the free, voluntary opt-in heart screening program in Tampa Bay area high schools. The SafeBeat Initiative is an awareness campaign to provide heart screenings to all Hillsborough County high school students during the upcoming 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 school years.  There is no charge to the student, parent, or school district for the screening.  The Initiative was unveiled at a March 22, 2010 press conference with former NFL Coach Tony Dungy.

Each year more than 7,000 children and adolescents in the United States die from Sudden Cardiac Arrest.  In fact, 4 out of 5 victims of Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) appeared healthy and had no symptoms prior to death.  Without symptoms, an EKG (electrocardiogram) based heart screening is the best way to detect the potential life threatening condition.  For additional information, please go to www.SafeBeat.org.