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The SafeBeat Initiative Welcomes Hillsborough County Students Back to School

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  August 24, 2010
Contact: Christina Johnson
850.339.5773
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The SafeBeat Initiative Welcomes Hillsborough County Students Back to School
Heart Screening Program Looks Forward to Fall Testing of Local High School Students

(Tampa, FL) –The SafeBeat Initiative team officially welcomes all Hillsborough County High Schools students back to school today and looks forward to announcing its fall schedule of free, voluntary, opt-in heart screenings in the coming weeks.

"Our hope is for all returning students to start off the new school year with a healthy mind and body," said Jayne Vining, founder of The Cardiac Arrhythmia Syndromes Foundation. "Our teachers do a terrific job in expanding the minds of our youth. The SafeBeat Initiative is committed to promoting a healthy body through heart screenings that can save their lives. It's the easiest test they'll ever take," said Vining.

The SafeBeat Initiative took part in last weekend's Back to School Bash at the Tampa Convention Center and signed up Hillsborough County students for future heart screenings at their local high school. Special guests attending the event included Ms. Lee Moore, mother of Plant High School athlete Connor Moore. Connor was found to have a heart arrhythmia during the SafeBeat screening event back in March. He recently had heart surgery and is back on the basketball court. Drake Williams, a Wharton High School athlete who survived a sudden cardiac arrest in 2009, spoke about the importance of getting screened. ABC Action News and Bay News 9 had this to say about The SafeBeat Initiative:

ABC Action News Tampa, August 21, 2010

Free heart screening saved one students life, SafeBeat offering them all students
Teen says he owes his life to this test

Bay News 9 Tampa, August 21, 2010

Student-athletes urged to get screened before seasons start

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.

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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. The 2010-2011 fall testing schedule will be announced in the coming weeks. Contributions to the Foundation allows for the ability to provide the heart screenings at no charge to the student, parent, or school district. The Initiative was unveiled at a March 22, 2010 press conference with former NFL Coach Tony Dungy.

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.