On Wednesday, September 25 our community suffered a terrible loss with the death of Jake West, a La Porte High School football player. After it was publically announced that his death was due to a heart condition, the cardiology and sports medicine teams of Indiana University Health La Porte Hospital made a joint decision to organize community cardiac screenings for high school students.

The screenings performed included electrocardiograms (EKGs) and Limited Echocardiograms, targeting views of the heart that would give the most information related to causes of sudden cardiac death in athletes. In a span of 16 days, 280 high school students were screened at no charge at the IU Health La Porte Heart & Vascular Center.

In total, 20 high school students screened were initially found to be abnormal. Consistent with athlete cardiac screenings, 80 percent of these abnormal results ended up being false positives, which is one reason why screening is not mandated in the United States. However, four students are still being evaluated or in treatment for their found cardiac condition by pediatric cardiology and at least one student will be undergoing open heart surgery in the next 12 months.