Below is the spot that Karen Schrah was on in August of 2014:
Dallas News | myFOXdfw.com
With high school football practice two-a-days starting soon, teens are at risk for heat stroke and other heart-related issues, but there’s currently a low-cost way that teens can find out if their hearts could be in danger.
Most kids never have their hearts checked because it's not required by middle and high school athletic departments.
In April 2009, 16-year-old Plano East offensive lineman Zachary Schrah collapsed during football practice and later died due to a heart condition that caused sudden cardiac arrest.
No required annual physical showed the condition.
“He played sports since he was a young child,” said his mom, Karen. “I never had any idea.”
A non-profit group, the Living for Zachary Foundation, was later founded in Zachary’s honor to help raise awareness of sudden cardiac arrest in youth.
Karen says that in the past five years, the Living for Zachary Foundation has funded 3,000 screenings for students between the ages of 12 and 22, a few of which have become heart patients.
“Once we find a problem, we make recommendations for lifestyle changes, and often that involves athletic activity,” said Dr. David Rawitscher, a cardiologist at Baylor Heart Hospital Plano. “And it's hard to tell a student, 'I'm sorry, you can't play competitive basketball,’ ‘I'm sorry, you can't play competitive football.'”
A 15-minute, non-invasive heart screening normally costs several hundred dollars.
But a partnership between Living for Zachary, Frontera Strategies and Walgreens has made the test free at two Collin County locations for any person between 12 and 22, regardless of whether or not he or she is an athlete.
“This test could've saved my son's life,” said Karen.
There will be other slots available after that for $55.
Baylor Plano, Denton and McKinney offer the test for $100.
Posted: Aug 04, 2014 9:06 PM CST Updated: Aug 04, 2014 9:35 PM CST
