YORK TOWNSHIP, York County, Pa.-- Hundreds of local students received free heart screenings on Saturday, during an event hosted by the Peyton Walker Foundation.
Walker was a 19-year old student at Trinity High School when she died of Sudden Cardiac Arrest in 2013. The foundation was started in her honor and aims to give children full medical evaluations. Those tests can find possible underlying heart conditions that a routine check-up might not find.
The screening was held at Apple Hill Medical Center in York Township, with more than 200-students attending. Event organizers say it's important to hold these screenings because Sudden Cardiac Arrest is the number one killer of student athletes.
"They think it's a heart attack, it's completely different from a heart attack. Heart attack we like to say is a "plumbing issue," cardiac arrest is an "electrical issue." It can strike anyone, not just old people. We associate heart attack with old people but sudden cardiac arrest often strikes young people more often," said Julie Walker, Peyton's mother and foundation director.
At Saturday's event, nearly a dozen students were advised to undergo additional testing. Medical experts say signs parents should look for include light-headedness, fainting after exercise or chest pain or pressure. If your child shows these signs, seek medical attention and request an electrocardiogram for your child.
To find out more about the Peyton Walker Foundation, click here: http://www.peytonwalker.org/