Westfield State Athletic Training Program Students Participate with In A Heartbeat Foundation to Offer Free Electrocardiogram Testing

The Westfield State Athletic Training fourth-year students and faculty recently participated in a unique community program that offered free electrocardiogram (ECG / EKG) assessment of local youth, high school, and young adult school and club athletes.

Over 65 individuals from the community were tested on Tuesday, August 26 at Springfield College.  The proctors were the undergraduate students in the Athletic Training program at Westfield State University, along with Springfield College graduate students in the Athletic Training program.  

These students were trained on 10-lead ECG / EKG set-up and testing by representatives from In A Heartbeat Foundation (https://inaheartbeat.org/) with training introduced by organization founder Michael Papale.  The Mission of In A Heartbeat Foundation is to 'prevent death from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and sudden cardiac arrest by raising awareness, enabling research, and donating automated external defibrillators (AEDs) to places that need them.' 

The Athletic Training students applied the recording pads and wire leads, gathered individual information and performed the testing protocol.  Immediate concerns were identified for each participant when applicable, with complete ECG / EKG results sent to cardiologists for detailed review.  All tested individuals will receive an email with comprehensive result analysis within two weeks.  

This activity contributes to the educational experience for these students by applying previously covered course content from their General Medical Aspects of Physical Activity coursework directly into practical applications.  Dr. Paul Higgins, the Athletic Training Program Director at Westfield State noted, "There are so many positives from this experience: graduate and undergraduate students working inter-professionally; the opportunity to provide a service to the surrounding communities, and students continuing to challenge themselves with real world, hands-on clinical opportunities."  He continued, "Dr. [Paul] Cacolice and I are so proud of how well our students performed!"

As students in the Athletic Training Program, the Owls Cross Country teams were strongly represented at the testing, accompanied by coaching staff.  Head Coach Marlee Berg-Haryasz noted, "The opportunity for our student-athletes to take part in the free cardiac screening through In A Heartbeat was invaluable.  The assumption, as distance runners, is that they are heart healthy, but the risk of heart conditions and failure are still there.  We encouraged our entire team to attend, because there is power in knowing.  As a coach, I am thankful for them to have this opportunity."