Take care of our Athletes

With Spring’s arrival means Spring sports for High School. Baseball in full swing, Soccer players out of the field, High School Softball and of course, the dreaded Spring football practice with the 7 on 7 games.

Although Springtime isn’t a HOT time of the year as far as temperature, it doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be aware of the issues and problems that our young athletes can run into. Our young athletes can get dehydrated, and experience muscle strains, tears and at times broken bones.

We depend on the Coach’s to prepare the water for the athletes and make sure they stay dehydrated, but what if there is a underlying problem that no one is even aware of, not even that high school football player or his family.

There are several steps that parents/coach’s and high school trainers can take to ensure the safety of the football players:

1/ Make sure that a trained staff member/adult is present at all times during a game or practice Make sure that staff member is trained and certified in first aid and CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation)~ If you don't know it, LEARN it! If you have access to a AED (automated external defibrillator) at the school, double check to make sure it is accessible quickly.

2/ Educate the player on health safety and warning signs. Make sure that the players are educated on nutrition, injury prevention and hydration and if he/or she feels sick or has shortness of breath ~immediately let a Coach or Administrator know!

3./ Have a AED available and near at all sporting events including practices. This could save a young person’s life.

4./ Encourage your High School athletes and parents to have a heart screening. Heart conditions are often undiagnosed until Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) occurs, and currently~ the majority of Sudden Cardiac Arrest incidents in youth athletes are fatal.

Living4Zachary promotes Heart Screening for all but especially in young athletes. It does make a difference, and if you don't believe how important screening is ~ just ask Karen Schrah, Mother of Zachary Schrah . Zachary died in April of 2009 of SCA at football practice, a simple Heart Screening could have helped save his life.

If you would like more information on the Living4Zachary mission, please visit our website and find out how to help with SCA awareness.

Raise SCA Awareness and Save Lives!

Is your school prepared if Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) strikes a student, staff member or visitor?

Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) is one of the leading causes of death in North America killing 300,000 people each year in the U.S. alone. While SCA is more prevalent in adults, children are also victims of SCA. Even schools for young children have many adults present every day and schools serve as central gathering point within the community.

A recent study of first responders and physicians staffing school sporting events identified 21 episodes of Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) in athletes of all ages. There are a significant number of young athletes, just like Zachary Schrah who have an undetected,
or possibly an underlying heart disease that predisposes them to SCA.

Schools with Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) have better cardiac survival rates, and the good news is a SCA is survivable. This important fact is true for both students and non-students who may experience sudden cardiac arrest at a school event.

The New England Journal of Medicine studies show that when AEDs are used within the first three minutes of SCA, there is a 74 percent survival rate. More than 92 percent of individuals suffering an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest do not survive to hospital discharge. The rate of survival declines 7 percent to 10 percent for each minute defibrillation is delayed.

AEDs IN SCHOOLS: HOW?

Implementing an SCA program at your school isn’t hard, but it will take some work. The Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation has some great information about some successful school programs, check out: Building a Heart-Safe School, you will find some very helpful information. You’ll also find helpful ideas and additional information on the Living for Zachary website . We have the power and the moral responsibility – to protect the lives of our young people, our faculty members, our staff and our visitors. With simple preparation, we can save a life at school and everywhere else.

Why wait for a tragedy? Implement an SCA program at your school now. You may just save a life—and better yet, by teaching students lifesaving skills, you’ll help build a generation of citizens who are ready, willing and able to help whenever SCA strikes. At Living 4 Zachary we want to work together to eliminate preventable deaths from SCA, which continue to occur all too often.

Knowing the difference.. SCA and Heart Attack

Do you honestly know the difference? Many people don't. They assume that SCA (Sudden Cardiac Arrest) is the same as a Heart Attack. The truth could save your life or save the life of someone you love according to the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation.

The medical term for heart attack is myocardial infarction. A heart attack is also sometimes called a coronary thrombosis or coronary occlusion. A heart attack is referred to as a "plumbing problem". The person having the heart attack is usually awake and at times can talk.

Warning Signs of a Heart Attack are: (but not limited to)

• Chest Discomfort
• Sweating
• Dizziness
• Nausea
• Discomfort in arms, back, neck and jaw

SCA (Sudden Cardiac Arrest)is often confused because of the name. Bottom line is when SCA strikes, most likely the person is NOT awake and the heart is no longer beating, thus being called SUDDEN. SCA is referred to as a "electrical problem". Just as you turn out the lights, the heart can simply just stop. Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) is caused by ventricular fibrillation (VF), an abnormality in the heart's electrical system. When SCA strikes blood stops flowing to the brain the heart and the rest of the body, and the person collapses.

Zachary Schrah had no known symptoms, no known risks and no family history of SCA or heart problems, he just collapsed and died on a normal day in Plano, TX, during a normal football practice.

It can happen to anyone and the bottom line is: get screened or take your child to be screened. You can learn more about SCA Heart Screening at the Living for Zachary website. It is about SCA prevention and that is what Living for Zachary is about-raising awareness of Sudden Cardiac Arrest in youth, awareness of the use of AED's and celebrating the life and story of Zachary Schrah to help others.

If you are interested in helping the Living for Zachary mission, please visit the Living for Zachary website for information on Living for Zachary Upcoming events, Heart Screening and ways to donate to Living for Zachary and our cause. It could be your child next.