BILL NUMBER: ACR 125CHAPTERED BILL TEXT RESOLUTION CHAPTER 118 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 7, 2010 ADOPTED IN SENATE AUGUST 23, 2010 ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 10, 2010 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 5, 2010 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Villines FEBRUARY 16, 2010 Relative to health facilities. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST ACR 125, Villines. Health facilities: youth athlete heart screenings. This measure would encourage all local hospitals, health facilities, and health care providers 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. 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 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 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, 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, health facilities, and health care providers 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 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.