HOUSTON, Texas \u2013 Four years ago, Kade Smith was the kind of high school athlete who looked unstoppable, an all-star pitcher for Boling High School with one mindset: give everything, win everything.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just giving my 100% every day,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n
But behind the highlights and horsepower was something no one could see.<\/p>\n
Smith had a hidden heart defect, the kind that can sit quietly for years and turn deadly without warning.<\/p>\n
\u201cAbsolutely nothing, no indications at all,\u201d Smith said when asked if he felt anything was wrong before it happened. \u201cNo symptoms.\u201d<\/p>\n
He\u2019d also done what most young athletes are told to do: get the routine sports physicals required to play.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had passed every physical I\u2019ve ever went through,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Then, during a run on the track at school, Smith collapsed.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd as I got about halfway done, my vision started fading,\u201d he recalled. \u201cBut I didn\u2019t slow up because that\u2019s just how determined I am as an athlete. Once I crossed the finish line, I faceplanted.\u201d<\/p>\n
Smith went into sudden cardiac arrest.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter collapsing on the track, did you in fact die?\u201d he was asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes sir,\u201d Smith said. \u201cI was dead.\u201d<\/p>\n
He survived because someone nearby acted fast, a high school trainer performed CPR, and after four rounds, Smith\u2019s heart started again.<\/p>\n
Now, his story is fueling a major push to catch heart conditions before they become life-threatening emergencies, and it\u2019s happening this week at Houston Christian University.<\/p>\n
Free youth heart screenings at Houston Christian University<\/p>\n
KPRC 2 is teaming up<\/a> with the Cody Stephens Foundation<\/a>, Houston Christian University, and Memorial Hermann Southwest to provide free in-depth heart screenings for young people across the Houston area.<\/p>\n Organizers say the goal is simple: identify hidden heart risks that standard exams often miss, especially for student athletes.<\/p>\n The screening event is set for:<\/p>\n When: Friday, February 28<\/p>\n Time: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.<\/p>\n Where: Morris Cultural Arts Center at Houston Christian University<\/p>\n Who can attend: Ages 11 to 22<\/p>\n Cost: Free<\/p>\n Each participant will receive an electrocardiogram (EKG), which is a quick test that measures the heart\u2019s electrical activity.<\/p>\n \u201cIt takes about 10 minutes for their student to receive an EKG,\u201d said Alahna Rojas with the Cody Stephens Foundation. \u201cIt\u2019s non-invasive, it does not hurt. We put 10 electrodes on them, and they are with professional nurses.\u201d<\/p>\n The event flyer highlights why organizers say screenings like this are urgent:<\/p>\n Sudden cardiac arrest is the No. 1 killer of student athletes<\/p>\n 1 in 300 youth may have an undetected heart condition that puts them at risk for sudden cardiac arrest<\/p>\n The standard physical exam\/history can miss 96% of youth at risk<\/p>\n That\u2019s why KPRC 2 and its partners are encouraging families, not just athletes, to consider getting screened.<\/p>\n For Smith, the message comes from experience.<\/p>\n \u201cMy message is to go to these heart screenings,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s as simple as that. You could save a life. You could save your kid\u2019s life.\u201d<\/p>\n How to register<\/p>\n Registration is available through the QR code on the event flyer below. <\/p>\n Heart screening (KPRC 2)<\/p>\n Copyright 2026 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HOUSTON, Texas \u2013 Four years ago, Kade Smith was the kind of high school athlete who looked unstoppable,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":179580,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[4494,72116,56,58,57,154],"class_list":{"0":"post-179579","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-houston","8":"tag-athletes","9":"tag-heart-screenings","10":"tag-houston","11":"tag-houston-headlines","12":"tag-houston-news","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179579","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=179579"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179579\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/179580"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=179579"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=179579"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=179579"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}