Helping Our Hearts

In coordination with the Saving Hearts Foundation (SHF), Poly held a free heart screening on Saturday, February 6.
Unexpected cardiac arrest is a leading cause for death among athletes. However, a lot of people are unaware of the condition and its prevalence among athletes.
Last December, Poly suffered a devastating loss when senior football player Frank Murphy passed away from a sudden cardiac arrest.
Remembering Murphy, Poly wanted to make sure that its athletes and the community had access to possibly life-saving tests.
“UCLA came to us last year and asked us if we would want to do a heart screening,” said Activities Director Ngoc Nguyen. “When Frank passed last year, we decided to host this event in memory of him.”
Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA), is very common amongst young and healthy athletes, which is why it is usually very difficult to target during regular doctor visits. The condition is only detectable through special equipment.
The SHF Foundation is a non-profit organization founded by students at UCLA aiming to raise awareness of SCA by providing free heart screenings, CPR, and AED training in the community.
The free EKG test was available to everyone ages 14-24 in the Big Gym and was even made mandatory for all of Poly’s student-athletes.
Over 320 students came to the screening, and four needed follow ups with their doctors and parents.
Thanks to the generous volunteers at SHF and the Poly administration, this event gave the Long Beach athletes and community an opportunity to prevent any further cardiac arrest losses.