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I think this might serve a better purpose than the steroid testing. I would love to hear your opinions.
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I think this might serve a better purpose than the steroid testing. I would love to hear your opinions. -
The only problem with an ECG is 1) it's easy to miss something if you aren't being diligent with every one, and 2) ECG's are open to interpretation of the person reading them. -
I feel like if the test could save even 1 life it would be worth it. The problem is are people willing to understand that one life saved is worth the hassle it could cause 100 others? How would we grade the effectiveness of the testing? Would it be based on findings of abnormalities of the heart? Or by a ratio of positive test results to total test results? What would be a ratio that would consider this test to be effective?
I guess I have a lot of questions but Im in the camp of saving 1 kids life out of 1000 would be considered a successful result.Comment
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I know money is always a factor in these situatuions, obviously sad to say, but I guess another question is how much spending for 1 positive result would be deemed acceptable?
None of these questions can be answered unless the tests are agreed upon by the decision makers, so I say lets do some testing and see what happens.Comment
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It's far more useful than the steroid testing was that is for sure. I'm of the mindset that 1 life saved or 1 serious injury prevented from this would be worth it.Comment
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LISD trainers, local hospital and doctors offered this free about 5 years ago to promote awareness and the new hospital in Flower Mound. It was a huge success. Not sure how many kids they had meet with a cardiologist afterwards but know there were some. If the quick test showed anything but perfectly normal they recommended they see a cardiologist for further tests. I know it put a lot of parents as ease.
I think it is a great thing.Comment
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ECG's are very non-diagnostic. They won't pick up hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (the most common cause of young athletes suddenly dying) or the genetic problem that killed the WOS qb a few years ago. What they will do is push a lot of kids into expensive and unnecessary testing to find nothing, and perhaps push those that can't afford further workup out of sports.Comment
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Do you believe that the ECG's talked about in the article have the ability to save a life? While it might not pick up hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which I had no idea what that was until you mentioned it, do you believe this test serves any purpose? What kind of heart issues could the ECG catch? I can't imagine that ECG testing is completely worthless. According to the article, non-profit organizations offer these tests for free but if not for free, the tests won't be anymore than $15.
What I do find interesting is the Doctor they interviewed, Dr. Benjamin Levine, A Dallas based cardiologist, said he opposes the testing. The article does not say the reason why the Doctor opposes though.Last edited by svhorns; 05-04-2015, 01:53 PM.Comment
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ECG's will pick up rhythm problems (which any nurse or doctor can do by taking a pulse or listening through a stethoscope). Yes, you will need an ECG to definitively diagnose exactly what it is but it can be picked up without. They will show if you've had a heart attack -- extremely rare in this population.
It is not so much the ECG I'm opposed to -- they are cheap and non-invasive, but not very specific. If there is any little blip, for medical-legal purposes, whoever is reading it will refer for further workup. This is when things start getting expensive and invasive. Could it potentially save a life? Maybe, but just as easily maybe not. But it may also subject completely healthy kids to invasive testing, and if they are on Medicaid, or have a really high deductible plan, parents might opt out of sports instead of spending a few thousand dollars on a maybe.Comment
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I'm jaded because I've seen many people take a strip and dismiss a very abnormal ecg as nothing significant. A Holter monitor would be more likely to pick up an abnormality as opposed to a 6 second ecg strip. An ecg may or may not show Left Ventricular Hypertrophy, which is only detectable in an ECG once the hypertrophic cardiomyopathy has been present for quite some time and the myocardium has thickened to a point that it deflects the signal in an abnormal manner. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy can go undetected by ecg, so I agree with our resident ginger, not as much benefit as this politician using this issue to pander for votes would like you to believe.Comment
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I remember when all I had to do was turn my head and cough.Comment
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