Preventing Sports-Related Sudden Cardiac Arrest Deaths in Children

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LEAPS Conference

During the 2008-2009 school year, four students in the Orange County School District succumbed to cardiac-related deaths while playing organized sports.  Alarmed at this the Orange County Fire Authority Fire Chief and the Superintendent of Schools decided a plan needed to be formulated to help prevent and respond better to these types of incidents.  The result of their efforts was an annual conference, "Life-Threatening Events Associated With Pediatric Patients in Sports" (LEAPS), where doctors, school administrators, educators, parents and first responders gather to address these tragic deaths and ways to prevent them.

Dr. Anthony Chang, the Medical Director of the Children's Hospital of Orange County Heart Institute, explains the reason for and importance of the LEAPS Conference saying, "We no longer wanted to see young adults in our cardiac intensive care unit having a sudden cardiac event with a very sad outcome.  The most important aspect of all of this is education, public awareness."

The seeds of the program began when former Fire Chief Chip Prather contacted William Habermehl, the Orange County Superintendent of Schools, to discuss how his department could shorten the response time of firefighters responding to school incidents.  This prompted further discussion, and a committee was formed, which put together the first LEAPS Conference in 2009.

The issue of sudden cardiac death in pediatric sports is an unusual issue faced by first responders.  As Ken Miller, the Medical Director of the Orange County Fire Authority says, "This conference was to include now a preventative medicine perspective, which is somewhat unusual for first responders to look at the preventative facets rather than the reactive facets."

The LEAPS Conference proposes a multi-faceted approach to solving this problem.  There are three areas that it covers, including the implementation of comprehensive screenings for all student athletes prior to playing sports, an increase in the number of automatic external defibrillators (AED's) in schools and sports facilities, and CPR training for faculty, parents and students.

Medical Prescreening and Shauna Ann Stuewe

Medical pre-screenings, including an electrocardiogram and a physical, performed on each child prior to playing his or her sport is an important first step in preventing these tragedies.  Unfortunately, there are some cases where children go through a complete cardiac screening, and they still suffer a sudden cardiac event.  One such case was that of fourteen year old Shauna Ann Stuewe, a cheerleader who complained of dizziness after completing a routine stunt.

Her mother, Lori Stuewe, explains, "The coach came over to her and pretty much immediately she collapsed and went into sudden cardiac arrest.  They said it looked like a seizure."  Despite the doctor's best efforts she passed away on February 15, 2006.

Lori Stuewe says that her daughter suffered a near drowning two years before her death, which was most likely her first sudden cardiac arrest, although no one knew it at the time.  She was seen by a pediatric cardiologist, who did an EKG, an echocardiogram, and a twenty-four hour halter monitor.  The results were normal, and she was cleared to return to cheerleading.

Automatic External Defibrillators (AED's)

Lori and Kirk Stuewe started the Shauna Ann Stuewe Foundation, where they encourage prescreening for students in competitive sports and raise funds for AED's, which they donate to schools. 

Kirk Stuewe says, "AED's need to be everywhere, in public schools, gathering locations, athletic facilities.  They need to be accessible, visual and get people trained with them.  They're real easy to use, but they can save lives no matter what the diagnosis would've been."

Gina Paiz is the parent of an eleven year old boy, Jorge, who was saved by an Automatic External Defibrillator.  Jorge, was playing basketball at a local gym, when he suddenly went into cardiac arrest and collapsed.  Parents who were at the facility quickly began CPR on him and retrieved the facility's AED.  They were able to shock his heart back into beating.  Paiz says, "Had an AED machine not been available, we're not sure if our son would have survived.  The AED had already done the job saving our son's life even before the paramedics got there."

Of the twenty-nine school districts in Orange County, California, ten have at least one Automatic External Defibrillator.  Even with a discount, they are approximately $1500.00 each.  Orange County Superintendent of Schools William Habermehl says, "Often in difficult financial times, people say, 'We can't afford to do it.', but we know we can't afford NOT to do it."

Every school should ideally have several AED's located in strategic places where they could potentially be needed.  Faculty, students and parents need to know where they are and how to use them.

CPR Training

In addition to this, CPR training is essential.  Dr. Chang explains, "There is a lot of, I think, public attention to getting AED's in the schools, but we want to make sure that's coupled with public awareness that CPR training is actually just as important, or if not more important."

CPR Training can be obtained through the American Red Cross or in conjunction with hospitals, fire and EMS departments, or other first responder or medical agencies.

Additional Information

Working together, doctors, educators, parents and first responders in Orange County, California, hope to reduce the number of sudden cardiac arrests during pediatric sports with the initiatives put forth by the LEAPS Conference and urge communities throughout the United States to do the same.

For more information about the Shauna Ann Stuewe Foundation, visit www.ShaunaStuewe.com.