One high school-aged athlete suffers a Sudden Cardiac Arrest every three days in the U.S.

The leading cause of death in young athletes on the playing field is an undetected heart condition.

The best way to detect these heart conditions is through a heart screening using an ECG (Electrocardiogram) and in some cases an Echocardiogram (ultrasound) of the heart. However, virtually no young athletes are screened for heart abnormalities during their normal sports physical or well child checks.

Mill Creek mom Darla Varrenti learned all of this in the worst possible way – when her seemingly perfectly healthy teenaged son Nick died unexpectedly after playing football.

Despite her grief, she and her sister Suzanne started the Nick of Time Foundation, which has brought heart screenings to schools all over our area and the country, potentially saving countless lives.

Josh Kerns visits with Darla, Suzanne and Kim Harmon, MD (UW Medicine) to discuss their vital work, what every parent and primary care physician should know, and how we can work together to prevent needless childhood deaths.