6th Grader Heart Exams Shock Researchers

(CBS)  Heart screenings given to 94 sixth graders at a school in Houston uncovered seven kids with heart conditions, including two requiring surgery, reports the Houston Chronicle. The study, led by Houston cardiologist Dr. John Higgins, shocked researchers who want to have heart screenings mandated for all sixth graders in the United States.

"Usually, the first time these kids have symptoms is during cardiac arrest," Higgins told the Houston Chronicle. "We had at least two cases in Houston last year where it was the first episode and they died."

The students tested were predominately black and Hispanic and almost half of them were overweight. Three of the kids were diagnosed with Stage 2 hypertension and others were found to have early onset of high blood pressure.

Higgins intends to test 1,500 middle schoolers in the Houston area as part of his $1 million study, the Houston Early Age Risk Testing and Screening or HEARTS. The screenings include a physical exam, an electrocardiogram and an echocardiogram as well as a health history.

The cardiologist wants to see the state legislature mandate screenings for all sixth graders, but heart exams are expensive and preventive EKG's and echocardiograms are usually not covered by insurance.

Read the full story at the Houston Chronicle.

[cmac67460]

My son came to me two and a half years ago and told me that the blood pressure machine at Walmart said his blood pressure was 120 something over 100. He was 14 years old. I took him to our physician and he referred him to a pediatric cardiologist. A couple of months later the cardiologist found that he had coarctation of the aorta which was a birth defect. He was born in a military hospital, had been to the hospital several times for breathing problems and different things throughout his childhood and it was never caught. Yet the cardiologist caught it right away by doing the echocardiogram because he had no femoral pulse. Needless to say, my son had to have aortic bypass graft surgery. He is alive today but will always have to go to a cardiologist because is aortic root is dialated. I wish this would have been found sooner. Thank God he was never an athlete. I think this clinic is great!!!!

[newyorkmom]

This is completely bogus..what kind of surgery was required that was picked up on "heart screening?" The sample number is low. Did any of the kids have routine health exams that had been performed since birth? No 6th grader should have a surgical heart defect that was not picked up in infancy unless that had not been followed at all. I always love the arguement.."just this past year there was this kid that someone heard of who died of something similar." Just throw that out there to increase the shock value. Again, the American Academy of Pediatrics, etc has looked at this and there are no recommendations for universal screening. It sounds like in this group of children preventative health care with a focus on obesity, improved nutrition, increased exercise etc would be the rout to optimal health.

[nethyme2day]

First off, I would like to know other than the Echo, what other screening tests were done. Second, what "defects" were found? Were they congenital heart defects? Were they holes in the heart? Mumurs? Were there any physical anomolies?
My daughter, was 14 years old and collapsed on the soccer field this year. She died from a cardiac arrest. And she DID have tests done, by a cardiologist. If you think that all of the children that show signs of easy fatigibility & shortness of breath, are all obese & out of shape, I so beg to differ with you. The screening should be done on any child who has symptoms of passing out (syncopy), shortness of breath, lightheadedness. If more testing had been done, there is a possibility that a life could be saved. When does the life of a child become a monetary issue? When did the Doctors & HMO's become the ones to dictate what is "routine health care"? If, as a parent, you feel your child has an issue to be further examined, don't you feel you should be able to request additional testing? Don't allow HMO's to become the power over the people's needs. They already have more power than most of us know.

[nanny2nicholas]

I was introduced to the world of congenital heart defects in 2001 when my 4 1/2 year old grandson was dxd with one. Although he'd been to his doctor countless times during his young life, his pediatrician never heard his murmur. An ER doctor heard it when we took my grandson there with a severe stomach ache. My grandson had surgery two months later to repair a hole in the atrial septum and a cleft in the mitral valve. Since his defect was found, I've learned that many heart defects are not found until a child is older or even into adulthood. I've also learned that there are quite a number of children and adults who die suddenly from undetected heart defects. I receive news about heart defects daily and I am aware of the many stories that come in about another person who has died suddenly from an undetected problem. According to the full story in the Houston Chronicle, one of the children had a hole in the heart which was repaired through a catheter procedure instead of open heart surgery. Atrial and ventricular septal defects are two problems that might be caught in screenings and could require surgery. Bicuspid aortic valves could be caught, as well as stenosis or regurgitation in valves. Many heart defect groups are lobbying for simple screenings such as blood pressure readings in all extremities and finger pulse-ox readings. These are inexpensive and easy things to do. I freely admit that before my grandson was diagnosed with a heart defect, I would not have been concerned with stories such as this one. I also would not have paid much attention to the stories of children or athletes who collapse and die suddenly because of an undetected heart problem. After all, no one in my family was one of "those" people who had a heart defect. In closing, let me say that at the time my grandson's defect was found, his heart was already very enlarged from overworking. We were told that if his defect had not been found, he could have been one of those kids who collapses and dies on the playground or ballfield.

[newyorkmom]

Multiple studies have shown that routine ECHO screening does not improve outcomes..this has been looked at in large numbers. The cost of one ECHO is upwards of $1000. The cardiologists make enough money.

[jclark7613]

The students tested were predominately black and Hispanic= nothing will be done

[sabamahawk]

Yea, Why even waste the time and money in the first place??

[Marcos989]

Black & Hispanic choosing not to access health care available to all when their children are in obvious poor health (obese). And when I say available to all that means that maybe yes, no xmas presents this year of a bunch of crap you do not need because we are getting our priorities straight..got it?....."Latesha damn it I told you no more donuts, Troy I have not seen you ride your bike in 3 months", ect.ect.
See I can stereotype also.

[tngreen]

This is another argument to support universal health care in the U.S. Communities should not have to choose between balancing their school systems' budgets and saving children's lives. With a 21st-century health care system, all children would receive routine screening AND be treated for problems early, before they face chronic conditions.

[SeektheTruth]

How in the world does this translate into a need "to support universal health care in the U.S."? I agree that we need a greater focus on preventive medicine and that doing so would save billions of dollars every year instead of letting these health problems fester to the point of having to treat chronic diseases. However, we are in the midst of the most serious economic recession since the Great Depression. How are we supposed to pay for yet another massive inefficient government-run bureaucracy without raising taxes on everybody (raising taxes on the corporations and the rich is really a tax on everybody), further running up the deficit, and further devaluing the dollar because of the need to sell more debt to the Chinese and print trillions of more dollars. We are approaching an economic abyss here folks. Our attention should be focused on lowering taxes to put more money in the pockets of Americans to spend on goods and services and/or create businesses. If we create an environment that is not conducive to people taking risks to go into business, we cannot creat jobs and employers cannot provide much need health insurance to potential employees. A greater focus on preventive medicine is an issue for health insurance reform, not for the federal government, already the largest most inefficient bureaucracy in the world to take over in the form of "universal health care".

[ajvw]

@ tngreen

lol