Parent Heart Watch

08/28/2026

❤️ Featured Foundation Friday ❤️

This week, we're proud to feature Parent Heart Watch member Louis J. Acompora Memorial Foundation.

Learn more: https://la12.org/

08/28/2026

Keland is 14, seemingly healthy, active and loves playing baseball. He had no symptoms. A required EKG identified a problem, leading to additional testing that revealed complete heart block.

This is a prime example of why the American Academy of Pediatrics’ 2021 policy statement Sudden Death in the Young: Information for the Primary Care Provider is flawed. It recommends four questions, based on expert opinion, to identify children at increased risk for sudden cardiac arrest and sudden cardiac death: two questions about symptoms and two about family history. A positive response should prompt further investigation.

Keland had no symptoms. His heart condition went undetected until he received an EKG.

These four questions are a cardiac risk assessment. They are not heart screening.

American College of Cardiology Who We Play For

THE NATIONAL VOICE. PROTECTING YOUTH FROM SUDDEN CARDIAC ARREST.

08/26/2026

Sixteen-year-old Rylan collapsed during football practice at Pawnee Heights High School in Kansas. His parents were performing CPR when first responders arrived, but Rylan died on the field.

The cause of his sudden death has not yet been determined.

THE NATIONAL VOICE. PROTECTING YOUTH FROM SUDDEN CARDIAC ARREST.

08/26/2026

Who comes to mind when you think of someone making a difference in the fight against sudden cardiac arrest in children and young adults?

Nominate them for a Heroes for Young Hearts Award. 🏆

Submit your nomination today: https://bit.ly/4oklHKQ

Nominations close September 30.

08/21/2026

❤️ Featured Foundation Friday ❤️

This week, we're proud to feature Parent Heart Watch member Thomas Smith Memorial Foundation.

Learn more: https://tommysheart.org/

08/21/2026

Benjamin, 20, collapsed from cardiac arrest during a hike, part of an intensive missions training program at Spurgeon College. First responders worked to save him, but he passed away at a local hospital. Our hearts are with his family, friends, and the entire Spurgeon College community.

THE NATIONAL VOICE. PROTECTING YOUTH FROM SUDDEN CARDIAC ARREST.

08/19/2026

Most people hope they'll never need CPR. Jupiter High School student John Abkemeier Jr. needed it two weeks after learning it — for his own father. When his dad collapsed at home while watching the World Cup, John got him to the ground and performed hands-only CPR until paramedics arrived. Dad made a full recovery.

Empowering students with lifesaving skills changes outcomes.

The School District of Palm Beach County

THE NATIONAL VOICE. PROTECTING YOUTH FROM SUDDEN CARDIAC ARREST.

08/18/2026

Jacob Mauger has played soccer since he was 8, with no dizziness, no fainting, no warning signs, ever.

Then a new Florida screening requirement led to a three-minute EKG that found something a routine physical never would have caught. Doctors say it could have made him "drop dead on the field."

Golisano Children's Hospital of Southwest Florida

THE NATIONAL VOICE. PROTECTING YOUTH FROM SUDDEN CARDIAC ARREST.

08/17/2026

An AED can only save a life when someone uses it.

That's where this series began, and it's where we'll end.

Be the person who takes action.

08/17/2026

Three years ago, this family lost a father. This month, they lost their son.

Eric Arzate was 20, a fire cadet at College of the Sequoias, chasing his dream of becoming a firefighter. He passed away following a medical emergency during training. Those who knew him remember someone who always put others first.

THE NATIONAL VOICE. PROTECTING YOUTH FROM SUDDEN CARDIAC ARREST.