Levine Children's Hospital, Carolinas Medical Center and Sanger Clinic's 1st Annual Heart of a Champion Day is on Saturday, May 31, 2008, at Carolinas College of Health Sciences. Our mission for this day is to provide the highest quality, comprehensive sports health screening and education to the student-athletes of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools so they may compete safely and injury free in the upcoming 2008-2009 school year.
The screening is completely FREE and is designed to detect any conditions that may increase your child's risk of injury or death while practicing or competing in his/her sport. Although there are many beneficial aspects of participating in high school sports (improved self-image, self-motivation and health habits), as with any activity, there are some associated risks. Overall, the risk of death in high school sports is extremely low; fewer high school students die due to their sports each year than in automobile accidents. In recent years, there has been an average of 20 to 40 non-traumatic deaths in high school sports each year, or one per 100,000 to 200,000 student-athletes per year.
However, the major causes of non-traumatic deaths in sports are heart problems, such as a syndrome called Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) being the most common. Fortunately, not all athletes with HCM are at risk for sudden death. Our goal is to identify those student-athletes who may be at risk, and provide those at risk with an early intervention treatment or plan.
Other parts of the screening focus on areas that may not lead to death but are commonly associated with sports-related health issues. The general, musculoskeletal, and neurologic histories are also critical in assisting us in detecting old injuries or other health problems that need special attention in order to prevent future sports-related injuries.
The final goal is to provide the student-athlete with a chance to ask a physician health-related questions and receive some health counseling. While this exam is very limited and should not replace a regular visit to his/her personal doctor, the limited contact that young adults have with doctors is important. Therefore, this day provides a much needed opportunity for young athletes to have contact with a physician.
The screenings are absolutely FREE and any rising Charlotte-Mecklenburg (CMS) high school athlete is eligible to participate.
Each student MUST turn in a signed parental consent form and completed health questionnaire no later
than May 19, 2008 in order to be screened. To access the consent form and questionaire, please complete
the following questions. After filling in each blank below, click on the “Retrieve Registration Forms” button and you
will be directed to a page containing instructions and the downloadable forms:
