On January 31st Olympia Middle School and Olympia High School are offering an opportunity for students to undergo an ECG (electrocardiogram), which can detect any heart abnormalities. The school district has partnered with a group called Who We Play For, which offers cardiac screenings all around the country to help detect any abnormalities that could cause a sudden cardiac arrest. An ECG is a simple, non-invasive test that records the electrical activity of the heart allowing diagnosis of abnormal heart rhythms that lead to a sudden cardiac arrest. ECGs are 95% effective at catching most heart defects before they happen, compared to a normal sports physical that only detects about 4% of underlying health conditions.
In order for your child to undergo an ECG at school, parents must sign them up for the screening. The cost for the screening is $20 and has to be paid with a credit or debit card at the conclusion of the registration process. The link to sign up can be found on this document: Who We Play For Heart Screening Event. Sign up instructions are also linked here: Instructions for Signing Up Following the event, all normal ECG results will be communicated to parents and guardians via email. If there are any abnormalities, a cardiologist will call the parent/guardian with the results. It may take up to 10 business days for results to be communicated to families.
This program is for students in grades 6-12. If anybody has any questions, please feel free to reach out to Andy Walsh at andrew.walsh@olympia.org.