Heart screenings offered to sixth-graders at a Houston middle school revealed seven with undiagnosed heart conditions -- two of which required surgery -- and the results shocked researchers who want to see such tests offered at every campus.
Those 94 students at Key Middle School were the first tested in a study led by Houston cardiologist Dr. John Higgins. On Wednesday, his group began screening 150 students at Houston's Fleming Middle School.
Higgins is hoping the findings will win support for his crusade to make heart exams routine for all U.S. sixth-graders.
"Usually, the first time these kids have symptoms is during cardiac arrest," said Higgins. "We had at least two cases in Houston last year where it was the first episode and they died."
While other studies have focused on athletes, this project includes all students.
"We suspect, and other people do, too, that those kids who actually have these conditions are the ones who get out of breath faster and maybe are slower," said Higgins, a sports cardiologist at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston and the Memorial Hermann Sports Medicine Institute.
The study, called Houston Early Age Risk Testing and Screening, or HEARTS, aims to examine 1,500 middle-school children locally. Many heart problems show up with chest pain after exercise, but others have no symptoms.
"We want to save young lives, and we want to promote safe exercise," Higgins said.
20-minute screenings
Though the Key students were predominantly black and Hispanic -- and nearly half were overweight -- it's unclear whether disproportionately high rates of obesity, poor diet and limited access to care in those populations are at least partially responsible for the surprising number of undiagnosed heart problems.
The project uses a four-point test to uncover underlying heart conditions that could lead to fatal episodes of sudden cardiac arrest.
Among the Key students tested, three were diagnosed with Stage 2 hypertension. Even more were found to have early onset of high blood pressure.
The 20-minute screenings include a physical exam, electrocardiogram and an echocardiogram, which is a cardiac ultrasound. Children also submit a health history.
Even the trial run of the study turned up two girls with undiagnosed problems.
Volunteered by her grandmother, Madelinne d'Aversa's screening in April uncovered a heart defect requiring surgery.
"My mom called and said, 'Don't freak out, but she has a small hole in her heart, and we need to find out more,'aEUR%" said Madelinne's mother, Shana Harvey.
The active youngster had a device installed to close "a very large, abnormal hole which definitely would have caused her problems in the near future," Higgins said.
Focus on sixth-graders
"Before they diagnosed me, I had shortness of breath, and now I haven't felt it anymore," said Madelinne, 13, who attends seventh grade at Lanier Middle School. "I play volleyball and dance, and I haven't had any problems."
The study focuses on students in sixth grade because they usually haven't yet taken up sports seriously.
"The kids who dropped dead in Houston last year were between ages 13 and 16," Higgins said.
Looking to Legislature
The $1 million project is funded by the Memorial Hermann Foundation and the Houston Rockets. Preliminary results have been published by the journal Circulation and have been presented at an American Heart Association meeting.
Higgins said he hopes to screen sixth-graders in all Houston-area districts and persuade state legislators to mandate the heart exams for all students entering middle school in Texas.
Such an endeavor, however, would be costly.
A $150 exam similar to the HEARTS screening is offered monthly at the Memorial Hermann Sports Medicine Institute.
The preventive EKGs and cardiac ultrasounds are usually not covered by insurance.
cindy.george@chron.com To see more of the Houston Chronicle, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.HoustonChronicle.com. Copyright (c) 2009, Houston Chronicle Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
Copyright (C) 2009, Houston Chronicle