BILL NUMBER: ACR 125	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 5, 2010

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Villines

                        FEBRUARY 16, 2010

   Relative to health facilities.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   ACR 125, as amended, Villines. Health facilities: youth athlete
heart screenings.
   This measure would encourage all local hospitals  and
other   ,  health facilities  , and health care
providers  with the ability to perform 
Electrocardiogram   electrocardiogram  and 
Echocardiogram   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%
  10 percent  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
  school-aged  athletes than in older, college and
professional age athletes; and
   WHEREAS, Electrocardiograms (EKGs) and  Echocardiograms
  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  echocardiogram  scans can
reduce the incidence of sudden cardiac arrest in young athletes; and
   WHEREAS, Some local hospitals  and health facilities
 , health facilities, and health care providers 
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   ,
health facilities, and health care providers  with the ability
to perform  Electrocardiogram and Echocardiogram 
 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  
who  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.
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