BILL NUMBER: ACR 125	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Villines

                        FEBRUARY 16, 2010

   Relative to health facilities.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   ACR 125, as introduced, Villines. Health facilities: youth athlete
heart screenings.
   This measure would encourage all local hospitals and other health
facilities with the ability to perform Electrocardiogram and
Echocardiogram screenings to partner with high schools in their
geographic area to provide free screenings for young athletes.
   Fiscal committee: no.



   WHEREAS, Los Gatos High School football player Michael Halpin
collapsed at school on December 2, 2008, and later died of a
previously undetected heart defect; and
   WHEREAS, Over 450,000 Americans collapse and die of sudden cardiac
arrest each year, including many young athletes; and
   WHEREAS, Sudden cardiac arrest is an abrupt loss of the heart's
ability to pump blood. It differs from a heart attack, which is
caused by a loss of blood that causes the heart tissue to die. In
sudden cardiac arrest the body's electrical system becomes defective
and the heart is not able to form an organized beat and plunges into
rapid or chaotic activity; and
   WHEREAS, Sudden cardiac arrest is generally a result of a
cardiovascular disorder, the most common of which is hypertrophic
cardiomyopathy (HCM), that is often triggered by physical exertion
like participation in sports; and
   WHEREAS, The incidence of sudden cardiac arrest in people between
15 and 34, inclusive, years of age has increased by 10% in the last
decade. While still relatively rare, sudden cardiac arrest, if a
person is susceptible to it, more often occurs in younger, high
school aged athletes than in older, college and professional age
athletes; and
   WHEREAS, Electrocardiograms (EKGs) and Echocardiograms are the
best way to detect heart abnormalities that may lead to sudden
cardiac arrest. These tests cost between $800 and $1,500, but are
often not covered by health insurance because no symptoms are present
to indicate the tests are needed; and
   WHEREAS, A study in Italy has shown that the use of EKG and
Echocardiogram scans can reduce the incidence of sudden cardiac
arrest in young athletes; and
   WHEREAS, Some local hospitals and health facilities have started
programs in conjunction with the high schools in surrounding areas to
provide free cardiac screening to young athletes to reduce the
incidence of sudden cardiac arrest and death; now, therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
thereof concurring, That the Legislature encourages all local
hospitals and other health facilities with the ability to perform
Electrocardiogram and Echocardiogram screenings to partner with high
schools in their geographic area to provide free screenings for young
athletes as a tribute to and rememberance of Michael Halpin and
other young athletes that have fallen to sudden cardiac arrest and to
prevent future tragedies; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.