A free sports physical uncovers a serious heart problem. Other kids can receive free checkups Saturday to possibly prevent future worries.
By CAMERON THIBOS
Published July 15, 2005
At 14, Matthew Tranter has a heart that could kill him at any time.
He has an extra electrical conduit in his heart - an abnormality called Wolf-Parkinson-White syndrome.
Matthew discovered his condition by accident during a free sports physical in May. Morton Plant Hospital, which donated its services to students for a day, included heart screening in the package. Matthew was one of four students found with heart conditions.
"I would never have thought to ask (for a test)," said Matthew's mother, Debbie Tranter. "It wouldn't have been on my mind."
Morton Plant is again offering to screen returning students this Saturday at the Kiwanis Club's 12th annual children's health fair. In addition to a heart check, any student in high school or below is eligible to receive free immunizations, physicals and dental exams.
The fair will be at the Long Center, 1501 N Belcher Road, from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Students must bring a parent or guardian along with their vaccination history. Lunch and Spanish translators are provided.
"It's a full-blown facility now, in terms of medical services," Doug Williams, the Kiwanis Club's community services committee chairman, said. "(The staffers) donate their time; this is their public service. It's a first class event."
An echocardiogram, which usually costs from $800 to $1,400, is an ultrasound image of the heart. The noninvasive procedure uses a sound wave generator, some gel and an electronic sensor to create a visual image of a heart in action. Its partner, the electrocardiogram, or EKG, checks the heart's rhythms and electrical activity. The recorded data are analyzed at the hospital and the results are mailed to parents in about a week.
"We do it to check some of these athletes out with underlying cardiovascular problems that they don't know about," said Barbara Jackson, Morton Plant echo lab manager. Jackson hopes to run at least 100 tests this weekend.
A variety of problems could turn up in the screening, such as the 11-syllable hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. HCM is an abnormal thickening of the heart's walls. Thicker walls mean smaller vessels, which lead to increased blood pressure. HCM will not bother sedentary book worms, Jackson said. However, if a football player takes off down the field, his racing heart could burst from the spiking pressure, causing him to keel over dead.
"It'd be the equivalent of putting a thumb over a water hose," Jackson said.
Unlike with HCM, Matthew has equal chances of complications whether he's running laps or reading a book. He goes into surgery next month, but since he is always in danger, he sees no point in slowing down.
"For Matthew, he's all into sports, but in his case it wouldn't matter," Tranter explained. "He could have been like his brother and been a trombone player. ... He could drop dead either way."
