Upcoming Events

CARDIOVASCULAR PREVENTION CLINIC (Heart attack risk assessment)
Appointments scheduled Monday - Friday
Cardiology Associates, Bellin Health Heart & Vascular Center, 744 S. Webster Ave., 2nd Floor

HEART CALCIUM SCORING
15 minute appointments scheduled daily
Cardiology Associates, Bellin Health Heart & Vascular Center, 744 S. Webster Ave., 2nd Floor

BELLIN RUN
Saturday, June 12
For details, please click here.

AHA HEART WALK
Saturday, September 18 • 8 am - 11 • NWTC, 2740 W. Mason Street
Details coming soon

HEART STRONG HIGH SCHOOL EXPO

Saturday, April 17 10am-4pm

Lambeau Field Atrium

For details, please click here

HYPERTROPHIC CARDIOMYOPATHY SCREENING FOR STUDENT ATHLETES

The Problem: Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM)
It is the most common cause of sudden death in young athletes. HCM usually doesn’t show up in young athletes until high school age. It is an inherited condition that causes the heart muscle to become thick. This thickening can cause blood flow in the heart’s main pumping chamber to become obstructed. It can cause the heart’s electrical circuitry to go haywire and cause an irregular heartbeat that can be fatal.

More common than you might think.
HCM occurs in one in every 350 people. That means more than a half a million people in the United States have the condition. More than 6,000 otherwise healthy young people die from it every year. Every two weeks a young athlete will collapse unexpectedly and never get up. About 95% of the time there are no warning symptoms.

How do we find it before it’s too late?
Unfortunately the typical physical exam required to participate in sports isn’t very effective in uncovering HCM. In one series of patients with HCM, only 43% were successfully identified by the exam, meaning 57% were cleared to play. There is a test that can accurately diagnose this condition. A limited, focused echocardiogram can improve the chances of correct diagnosis to over 95%. This can be performed in less than 90 seconds. This test is designed to complement preparticipation sports physicals and not replace them.

Have your athlete screened.
In 2008, Cardiology Associates of Green Bay screened nearly 1,000 local high school atheletes for HCM at no cost. We are planning on offering this service again. Imagine what you could save.