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The Pulse...Let the Beat Go On!
February 2011
2011 PHW Conference A Tremendous Success!
Attendance Up 30%
 
2011 Heroes for Young Hearts
From left to right: Heroes for Young Hearts Award recipients, Kaitlin Forbes, Dr. Joseph Marek and Michaela Gagne Hetzler

This year's annual conference in San Diego featured several firsts - the first Annual Heroes for Young Hearts awards; the first ever track specially designed for siblings; and the launch of the Is Your School or League Prepared? postcard campaign to raise awareness about commotio cordis and the importance of cardio pulmonary rescusitation (CPR) and early defibrillation (AED).   

 

Expert speakers presented the latest information on SCA in youth, cardiac screenings, AED placement, genetics and much more.  

 

Attendees shared ideas, best practices, and left feeling motivated and committed to saving young lives.

 

Stay tuned for the location of the 2012 PHW Annual National Conference! 

  Members Taking Action!

  

Young SCA survivor, Tori Sorenson, of Washington was featured in the Spring 2011 issue of Providence Heartbeat (see Survivor Stories on page 14).

John and Karen Acompora 
with the Louis J. Acompora Memorial Foundation gave $10,000 to Family Residences and Essential Enterprises, Inc. (FREE) to complete the installation of more than 60 AEDs in homes and programs throughout Long Island....Jim and Karen Zilinski are hosting the fourth annual fundraiser for The Janet Fund on March 3.  "Denim and Diamonds" will feature horse racing, dinner, a silent auction, raffle and more.....

 

Darla Varrenti and Sue Apodaca and the Nick of Time Foundation have been named as one of the recipients of the Seattle 2011 Diet Coke and Heart Truth "Capture the Flag" campaign on February 26 at Qwest Field in Seattle...Kelly Stanford and the KAYLA Foundation are hosting the 1st Annual Kayla Stanford Memorial 5K Walk/Run on Saturday, May 7 in Ypsilanti, Michigan.... 

Stew Krug Donating AED

Stew Krug presents AED to Boys & Girls Club of Delaware


Melinda Murray's son Dominic was remembered with an annual basketball game fundraiser for awareness on February 8 to benefit the DOM HEART 21 Foundation....Stew Krug presented a Zoll AED on behalf of Parent Heart Watch to the Boys & Girls Club of Delaware (Claymont Club) on January 28...

 
Andy and Martha Anderson with Saving Young Hearts (SYH) partnered with three different Chick-fil-A locations in Central Florida for Heart Month for awareness and fundraising.  Funds are being used to place AEDs in public schools and heart screenings for early detection.....   

Let us know what YOU are doing at
contact@parentheartwatch.org.
Infant Screening at Hospital Saves a Life
 
Editors Note:  PHW learned of this story via e-mail following the Today Show segment on Thursday, February 3. We wanted to share it with you.

Hartley Rock was born on December 15, 2010. When her parents, Haleigh and Rhuston Rock were ready to takeHartley Rock her home from a Texas hospital, the nurse informed them that she couldn't leave because a test that the hospital required for all newborns before leaving had shown a problem.  Immediately, Hartley was taken to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, where her electrocardiogram (ECG) showed that she had Long QT Syndrome and that her heart rate slowed while sleeping. The doctors started her on medication, and sent her home with a heart monitor to wear at night.
  

The requirement to have the ECG for all newborns before leaving the hospital had been instituted a week before Hartley was born. 

Stories like Hartley's serve as a testament that early detection through ECG screening does in fact save lives!

Dates to Remember   


March 26 - 27
 4th Annual Sudden Cardiac Arrest: From Awareness to Prevention - San Diego, CA
April 2 - 5  American College of Cardiology 60th Annual Scientific Session & Expo - New Orleans, LA

May 4 - 7 Heart Rhythm Society 32nd Annual Scientific Sessions - San Francisco, CA

May 15 - 21 National Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Week with May 18 set aside as EMS for Children Day

"Tissues for Testing" Campaign

Over 1,300 Medical Examiners (MEs), coroners and Child Death Review teams across the country received a mailing from PHW this week.  The piece focuses on the importance of having a definitive diagnosis for a young person's death, and how MEs and coroners can help by safeguarding tissue samples for genetic testing.  It goes on to outline the appropriate collection and storage of viable samples for future genetic analysis, which can provide life-saving information for families.

If you would like a copy please send an e-mail to contact@parentheartwatch.org.   

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