ANNA MARIA ISLAND, Fla. (WWSB) – Florida is the first state in the nation to require heart screenings for high school student athletes, but one Tampa Bay family says the requirement should extend to middle schoolers as well.<\/p>\n
A racing heart that wouldn\u2019t slow down<\/p>\n
Jensen Pearce, 13, plays softball and flag football. After one game, her racing heart never slowed down.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought I was just worried, or overthinking, or anxiety or something like that,\u201d Jensen Pearce said.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe played the game, and then after, she went straight to the car. She said, \u2018I don\u2019t feel good \u2014 my heart is still pounding,\u2019\u201d said Jessica Pearce, Jensen\u2019s mother.<\/p>\n
At the emergency room that night, nurses recorded Jensen\u2019s heart rate at 262 beats per minute.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe lady kept telling me it\u2019s going to be okay, it\u2019s going to be okay \u2014 but I was just very worried,\u201d Jensen Pearce said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI played some music to calm her down. We were waiting for the medicine, my husband was on his way \u2014 it was the scariest thing I\u2019ve ever experienced,\u201d Jessica Pearce said.<\/p>\n
Dozens of other athletes diagnosed<\/p>\n
Jensen was diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White. Dozens of student athletes have been diagnosed with the same condition since Florida\u2019s screening requirement took effect.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re at about 85 kids who\u2019ve been found with Wolff-Parkinson-White,\u201d said Shawn Sima, a sports medicine physician assistant.<\/p>\n
Sima works with Who We Play For, a group focused on preventing sudden cardiac events in young athletes. He said a standard sports physical often is not enough to catch deadly heart conditions.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith my clearest hearing, in the quietest room, I have a 20 percent chance of finding a deadly heart condition in a kid. At best,\u201d Sima said.<\/p>\n
Back to sports after cardiac ablation<\/p>\n
Pearce said doctors told her an ECG likely would have caught her daughter\u2019s condition. A cardiac ablation has since allowed her to return to sports.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know it\u2019s annoying, and some people think it\u2019s stupid, like it won\u2019t happen to them. I thought that too. So did my mom. But it did happen \u2014 so you never know,\u201d Jensen Pearce said.<\/p>\n
Jensen and her mother intend to advocate for ECG screenings to be mandatory for student athletes of all ages.<\/p>\n
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