JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — It’s estimated one in 300 youth has an undetected heart condition that could put them at risk for sudden cardiac arrest. First Coast News teamed up with Who We Play For for a free heart screening event on Monday in Jacksonville at the Flex Field at EverBank Stadium, where hundreds of students got EKGs to help detect life-threatening heart conditions.
“I'm here to help save lives. And I get emotional because Ashlyn was saved through an event like this. Without Who We Play For she might not be here,” Shauna Scarborough said.
“We came because we wanted to give back to the organization that caught my son Danny's heart condition,” Haley Wilk said.
Scarborough and Wilk are two moms on a mission who came with their children to volunteer at the Who We Play For heart screening event.
Their children, both athletes, were diagnosed with potentially life-threatening heart conditions at an event similar to this one.
Ashlyn Scarborough was 15 when an EKG discovered an electrical problem with her heart that an ablation cured.
“I've been playing flag football since I was eight years old, and I've always been athletic and healthy,” Scarborough said. “You don't know until you get screened, and it's better to know than to not know because you could be on the field playing your favorite sport and then collapse.”
Danny Wilk, a varsity soccer player, was diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy a few months ago. He had no warning signs.
“I'm glad to see that so many people are coming and getting the screens because it's so important to me and to everyone else here,” Wilk said.
Stacy Cartechine’s son died at the age of 21 after suffering sudden cardiac arrest. She wants parents to know it doesn't just happen to athletes. It can happen to anyone.
“This event, just like all the other ones, means so much to me because it means that lives are going to be saved. And families won't have to have the heartache that we live with every day.”
An EKG screening is quick, painless and noninvasive.
“This is not something that is routinely done in your pediatrician’s office for well visits. And it could be any of our kids,” Haley Wilk said. “Go get your kids tested.”
To bring a low-cost heart screening event to your community visit Who We Play For's website.