Commack School District: Preventing Student Athlete Deaths

By Erica Jackson 

On February 24, 2007 Denver Broncos running back Damien Nash, 24 collapsed and died during a charity basketball game in St. Louis. On October 15, 2005 Atlanta Hawks center Jason Collier, 28, died after experiencing shortness of breath. On May 8, 2005 Western Kentucky basketball player Daniel Rumph, 21, perished after shooting hoops with some friends; and on November 3, 2007, American distance runner Ryan Shay, 28, passed away during the United States Olympic marathon trials in New York City.  All of the athletes shared one thing in common, they all died of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a potentially fatal heart condition that often remains undetected until an athlete collapses on a playing field. 

In an effort to prevent such a death among its student athletes, the Commack School District has recently instituted American Heart Association recommendations that ask that all high school and middle school student athletes complete a pre-participation cardiovascular screening. 

“There have been a number of sudden cardiac deaths in the past few years and we decided to create awareness to those potential problems and screen our athletes,” said Jeramy Thode, director of health and physical education for the Commack School District. 

Prior to competing in sports, Thode said students are asked to fill out a short survey related to their family’s and their own cardiovascular health. The survey is to be reviewed and signed by both the student’s parents and doctor. 

“We want to keep our kids safe and prevent any serious problems,” said Thode. 

While the survey is not required to be filled out this year, Thode said it is highly recommended and will be mandatory next year.  So far, however, 200 plus student athletes in the Commack School District have handed in their forms.  There are about 2,000 kids in the district that participate in sports. 

“It appears that people are taking this very seriously,” said Thode. 

As they should:  According to statistics, released by the Pediatric Cardiomyopathy Registry, one in every 100,000 children in the United States under the age of 18 is diagnosed with cardiomyopathy which is a primary heart muscle disorder.  The majority of cases in childhood are diagnosed between 12 to 18 years old.  The risk of sudden death is highest in the young and decreases with increasing age. 

“I applaud the Commack School District’s adoption of the American Heart Association guideline for screening student athletes,” said Thomas Biancaniello, MD, FACC, FAHA, Chief Pediatric Cardiology, and Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine School of Medicine at Stony Brook.  “One important, but overlooked aspect of the pre-participation health evaluation is an adequate medical history and family history. Relying on the student athlete to report symptoms or family history that may disqualify them encourages them to  leaves out critical information which may be important in a good evaluation. That is why it is important to have parents attest to the family history.  Primary care physicians often have this information and their input can add to the thoroughness of the evaluation.” 

According to Dr. Biancaniello, “Key elements that may be the only clue that the student is at risk is a family history of sudden death since hypertrophic cardiomyopathyis inherited.  That means 50 percent of the family members may be afflicted.”  He added, “While fainting is common (15 percent of children faint before they are 18 years old) and chest pain is rarely cardiac related, fainting during physical exertion or chest pain that only occurs with exercise may be clues to the rare conditions that cause sudden death.” 

* It should be noted that Thomas Biancaniello is married to Patricia Biancaniello, publisher of SmithtownMatters.com.