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Signs of Cardiac Distress and Heat

                  Stroke in Student Athletes


          Every few weeks in the                        life saving devices ahead of
        news there’s another terrify-                   time.
        ing incident of a student ath-                    In addition, parents can
        lete losing consciousness on                    investigate their own family
        the field, leaving parents and                  history of heart conditions            Specializing in Medically
        physicians wondering what                       to know their student ath-
        underlying health condition                     lete’s risk for developing one
        they have. These incidents                      on the field. Consider                       Complex Patients
        can lead to permanent injury                    whether anyone in the fam-
        and even death, but many of                     ily tree has had an unex-                         Kindred Hospitals are owned by Kindred
        them are preventable. As ath-                   pected death before age 50,                    Healthcare, Inc., a national network of Long Term
        letes start to take to the field                 or a history of other heart                   Acute Care Hospitals (LTACH's).

        again this coming school year,   BY LEVI NOVERO, MD  problems, such as a heart                    Kindred Hospitals provide specialized, high quality
        parents can play an active role                  attack at a younger age as                    care for acutely ill patients. For more than a decade,
        in injury prevention.                            well. Talk to multiple gen-                   we have fine-tuned the art of medically complex care.
                                             erations, including grandparents, aunts,
        Symptoms and signs that serve        uncles, and other children to identify if                    Our services range from complex catastrophic
        as an alert                          there is a family history. If so, bring up                illnesses that require intensive care, post-surgical medical
          Sometimes an athlete’s medical incident   these cases with your pediatrician or heart   rehabilitation to patients suffering from chronic diseases requiring respiratory and
        on the field was the result of an untreated   specialist to figure out the safest way for   rehabilitative therapies. Kindred Hospitals provide outcome-oriented
        heart condition. In certain cases, these   your student athlete to proceed through   cost effective care for patients with a wide spectrum of
        conditions have signs and symptoms   their sports career. Non-athletes may also   medical conditions.
        coaches and parents can watch for (and   have difficult-to-spot symptoms if they are
        tragically, sometimes not). In particular,   not regularly asserting themselves.           Admissions to Kindred Hospitals may be
        coaches should alert the parents to any of                                   recommended by physicians, acute-care hospitals,
        the following symptoms, and parents   And don’t forget about the need        rehabilitation hospitals, managed care providers, case
        should promptly report these symptoms to   to hydrate                        management companies or by the patient’s family.
        the pediatrician:                      In July, a Florida law took effect that   In all cases family tours are encouraged.
           Chest pain                        requires public and private schools to have
           New-onset fatigue                 defibrillators, but also cold immersion tubs
           Shortness of breath               or other means of quickly lowering the       Kindred Hospital                  Kindred Hospital             Kindred Hospital             Kindred Hospital
           Lack of stamina                   body temperature for any student athlete
           Heart palpitations/racing heart   going through heat stress. Verify that your         Fort Lauderdale                      Hollywood                     Coral Gables               The Palm Beaches
                                                                                       1516 East Las Olas Blvd.                         1859 Van Buren St.                 5190 Southwest Eighth St.          5555 West Blue Heron Blvd
           Passing out or syncope            program has personnel that knows how to       Ft. Lauderdale FL 33301                       Hollywood, FL 33020                 Coral Gables, FL 33134               Riviera Beach, FL 33418
           Feeling dizzy                     recognize the signs and symptoms of heat    954-764-8900, ext. 5136                    954-920-9000                       305-448-1585                       561-904-8451
           High blood pressure               stress, but also be proactive in ensuring    www.khfortlauderdale.com           www.khsfhollywood.com         www.khcoralgables.com        www.khthepalmbeaches.com
           Heart murmur                      your child is staying well-hydrated and
          Don’t wait to see how any of these symp-  cool enough in the hot summer months.
        toms progress, but instead make an     Some commons signs of heat stroke,
        appointment with the pediatrician and   which can be serious, include:
        simply say, “I’m concerned about Johnny’s    Headache or dizziness
        heart, because when he plays, he is short of    Excessive sweating and pale skin
        breath.” Don’t be shy to ask for a cardiac    Fast breathing or pulse
        referral.                               Extreme thirst
                                                Confusion
        Preventing tragedies that had no        High body temperature
        signs or symptoms                      Take immediate action to hydrate, cool,
          The toughest cases are those where there   and calm your child and follow up with
        were missed or no warning signs. For   your pediatrician promptly.
        example, heart conditions can manifest   Through each of these actions, parents
        without warning, and the first major inci-  can ensure the best possible outcome med-
        dent is the first time parents or the athlete   ically for your child to get back on the field
        knew there was a problem. This type of   safely.
        incident is what led to the deployment and
        widespread training of school personnel in   Dr. Levi Novero is a Pediatric Cardiologist
        defibrillators. Know your school and   at KIDZ Medical Services in Naples, Florida.
        sports programs’ policy and access to these







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        South Florida Hospital News                                                              southfloridahospitalnews.com                                                           August 2021                          17
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