Sudden Cardiac Arrest in Pediatrics

Jared C. LaCorte M.D., FAAP, FACC Metro Pediatric Cardiology www.DrMDK.com Pediatric Cardiology Fellowship: Children's Hospital of New York-Columbia Presbyterian

Sudden Cardiac Arrest in Pediatrics Male1: So if something in the history, some indication from the family background that could be of schedule, click work up but the other side of the corner is, even if you could not find it, it could be there, what can you do if it happens? So the parent should take a CPR course, you assume all the athletic people, and there should be a device, everybody get together, this is concerned that could save the kid’s life which would be an automatic defer of allegory. Male2: There are two measures there. There is screaming children, four athletics to determine who is at risk for sudden cardiac death. This particular area, there is controversy. The general standard of care is to have a pre participation questionnaire filled out with the pediatrician asking questions about symptoms of chest pain, of passing at, of palpitations, asking questions of family history of sudden death and completing a physical examination. If that is normal and there is no positive findings then the general recommendations is for no further screening. However, there are many who do recommend the armband, a screening electrocardiogram to rule out conditions such as Long QT syndrome with Parkinson-White syndrome and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The second issue is at the athletic event itself. If someone were to collapse, what is done? And that is where CPR training in the trainers, in the coaches, and the presence of an automatic defibrillator that allay persecute use could help to revive the patient who suddenly collapses. So I think that if both of those things were done, then we would decrease, even further the tragic events that could occur at the athletic field. Male1: There should be some kind of a plan in any event that you would be traveling. Who is in charge, what should be done, because sometimes when something like that happens, it is all chaos. That should be all preset. This would take over, this is what we would do, blah, blah, blah and it is an all draw, if you prepare for the problem, and usually it does not happen. Is that true? Male2: No questions asked. Male1: That is the insurance in the world. Male2: Absolutely, in preparing the parents, the coaches, and the athletic trainers, most high school sports teams will have an athletic trainer. Some schools and some leagues provide nurses or physicians available as well. It really depends upon where you are but the more people who were trained, the more people who are aware of these potential situations; the less likely they are no way to occur but the less like they are to live to attend these rapid events. Male1: That is extreme risk, if we are talking to one to two events per hundred thousand kids, is that correct? Male2: Correct. Male1: Okay, so they could have a consideration. Parents should not sleep over, relax, enjoy, but take the insurance of getting the doctor involved, taking a good history, take all the data you worried about and redo some greats and remember with all that time, there is still a chance, very rare a baseball, gets a burst on his chest, it is unprotected, there is no way in predicting that things just (voice overlap). Male2: I think the main thing is do not live with an irrational fear that something bas is going to happen to your child when they are doing athletics. Athletics provide far more good than bad. Not only in the child’s self esteem and social interactions but providing for a healthy heart. Doing activity and staying physically fit, provides them with a much better opportunity for a healthy heart later in life and instilling those values of good diet and exercise. Well, I often tell parents, they come in to the office so concerned about their child playing sports or probably the fast food and the fried food and the sedentary life style their child is leading is far more a greater risk to their health than the chances of something catastrophic occur in an athletic event. Male1: The fact that the kid will participate in this sport and not in front of their computer is a very good engagement of life. Male2: And I t