SEATTLE — February is Heart Month, and it’s a great time to focus on living a heart healthy life at every age.
“You’ve got to be able to make sure that you’re taking care of your heart because you need it in every single thing that you do,” said Tyler Lockett, Seahawks wide receiver. “For me, just being able to play sports is really being able to eat right, sleep right and drink right.”
Much of heart disease is preventable, but symptoms may be silent and hard to identify. Knowing your blood pressure, blood glucose, cholesterol levels and family history can help you prevent heart issues.
“Young athletes especially can be at risk for silent heart conditions that can lead to sudden cardiac death, and there’s so much we can do to screen for them and prevent these deadly events,” said Dr. Mariko Harper, medical director for the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy program at Virginia Mason Franciscan Health.
Young athletes are encouraged to have their heart screened yearly to help detect any issues early for the best treatment options. An EKG is an electrical tracing of the heart, and it can pick up underlying heart disease that could put a child at risk for sudden cardiac death.
“I would encourage everybody as young as you are, to be able to try to get your heart screened once a year,” Lockett said. “It might not be something that’s fun to you at an early age, but if you really want to try to live as long as God’s put you on this earth, you’ve got to be able to do your part.”
Part of the heart screening is asking questions to identify any symptoms a child may be experiencing. These include shortness of breath, passing out or nearly passing out during or after activity, chest discomfort or chest palpitations.
Virginia Mason Franciscan Health, the Seahawks and the Nick of Time Foundation are offering a free young athlete heart screening on March 16 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
“We’re hoping to pick up potentially deadly conditions before they become a problem and prevent sudden cardiac death in our young population,” Dr. Harper said.
You do have to sign up to get screened at the event. To learn more and register, visit the Nick of Time Foundation website.
Sponsored by Virginia Mason Franciscan Health.
Segment Producer Joseph Suttner. Watch New Day Northwest 11 a.m. weekdays on KING 5 and streaming live on KING5.com. Contact New Day.