“A student athlete dies once every three days in the United States from sudden cardiac arrest.” - New York Times, May 2013. Each year, young athletes across the United States are dying on the field from serious health related conditions that are often preventable. Sadly, sudden cardiac death, the leading cause of death in youth sports, has been overshadowed by other topics such as concussions and
heat stroke by most leading youth sports agencies on a national level. Sudden cardiac arrest is most commonly induced as a result of a structural heart defect, or a complication with the heart's electric circuitry. The most frequent cause is hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (the thickening of the heart muscle—with few warning signs). The second cause is usually Commotio Cordis (an often lethal disruption of heart rhythm that occurs as a result of a blow to the area directly over the heart). The instances of death from sudden cardiac arrest during athletic activity are growing, and will soon be the leading topic of discussion in relation to youth athlete health and safety nationwide. Thusly, Play With Heart aims to be the leading advocate in this fight as well as the answer to the problem.
