TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – In honor of National Youth Heart Screening Day, one nonprofit partnered with Leon County EMS to offer free heart screenings for students Saturday.
Kieran Easton helped create the organization Who We Play For in honor of his late friend Rafe Maccarone.
“One in 300 youth have a potentially life-threatening heart condition, so these screenings are important to prevent cardiac arrest,” Easton said.
At 15 years old, Maccarone collapsed and died on a soccer field because of an undetected heart condition. Easton said he wanted to create an organization to prevent other students and families from experiencing that trauma.
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“It doesn’t hurt at all, but it could potentially save your life,” Easton said in reference to the heart screenings.
“It’s the standard of care for high-level collegiate and professional sports. So, we wanted to make it available to students – all students – before they get to those levels.”
The screenings were at the Leon County Public Safety Complex. Students from FSU’s chapter of Who We Play For also got CPR training at Saturday’s event.
Easton said the free heart screenings are not only for student-athletes.
“You don’t necessarily have to be a high-level athlete or an athlete at all to have a heart condition,” he said.
“We want to make sure we prevent these cardiac arrests before they happen by identifying these heart conditions, getting them the follow up care they need with a local cardiologist, and then being able to return to their daily life.”
Who We Play For was founded in 2013 while Easton was at Florida State. During the past three weeks, the organization has screened more than 2,500 Leon County students.
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