DGS hosted free heart screenings for students through the Young Hearts for Life program on Thursday, Sept. 16, 2021. Students were given ECG tests administered by community volunteers, with the results being reviewed by on-site licensed cardiologists.

According to DGS PE, Health and Drivers’ Education chair Scott Lange, the Young Hearts for Life program screenings are taking electrocardiogram tests of students’ hearts. The primary goal is to look for heart issues that may arise in teenagers.

“[The screenings are] looking for the triggers for the sudden death heart attack among adolescents,” Lange said.

The screenings will be conducted by trained volunteers from the community. There will also be three licensed cardiologists on site to read the screenings for any abnormalities.

“There are over 200 volunteers — they’re actually being trained tonight. A lot of them have been doing it for years and the new ones are getting trained… we’ll also have three cardiologists who will be reading the ECGs to see if there are any abnormalities or irregularities,” Lange said.

Lange described how the procedures will work for students on the actual day of the cardiac screening.

“[Students] will meet in the auditorium, and then they’ll be released by their teachers… all the female students will go to the large gym and male students will go to the small gym. They’ll be taken into one of the privacy booths, and they’ll have the stickies put on them; I believe there’s two on their chest, one on their arms, and one on each ankle. They’ll have a machine go on for about 30 seconds, they’ll take the stickies off, and then they’ll be released,” Lange said.

Most of the student body seems to understand the need for the screenings, and many are optimistic that they have a free way to have their hearts checked at a young age. Senior Dai Zheng agrees with this sentiment.

“It’s free and I have a family history of having heart issues, so I signed up,” Zheng said.

Young Hearts for Life comes to DGS to perform screenings every two years. They will come again in 2023.