When it comes to protecting the health of student-athletes, the approach must always be to err on the side of caution.
Ohio has done that through better monitoring of youth head injuries, but now needs to be just as vigilant, if not more, when it comes to detecting potentially deadly heart ailments.
Sen. Cliff Hite, R-Findlay, plans to sponsor legislation next month that will raise awareness of heart conditions before more tragedies unfold on football or soccer fields or basketball courts. The bill can’t come soon enough.
Hite’s bill would require coaches and teachers to undergo one hour of instruction on the symptoms of sudden cardiac arrest every three years. Coaches would be required to remove a student from an activity when a heart problem is suspected. The student would not be permitted to return to action until medically cleared.
It makes sense to better monitor student heart issues, considering that one in 100 student athletes have an undetected cardiac condition that can lead to death.
Sudden cardiac arrest is a public health issue that needs more attention. Since some heart problems go undetected, it can strike without warning. Shortness of breath, dizziness, extreme fatigue, syncope, and a “racing heart” can all be symptoms of a more serious underlying heart condition.
Ohio lawmakers shouldn’t wait for more deaths to occur. They should make quick work of Hite’s proposal next year.
