West Bloomfield High School student Matilda Edvardsson, center, helped launch an initiative at the school to raise awareness about sudden cardiac arrest among students. Juniors Amarina Kriko, left, and Sophia Zholob, joined in on the initiative.
By: Mark Vest | West Bloomfield Beacon | Published October 16, 2024
WEST BLOOMFIELD — When West Bloomfield High School junior Matilda Edvardsson paid a visit to her doctor last summer, little did she know that it would change the course of her life and potentially help save the lives of others.
Edvardsson went to see her doctor in order to have a physical prior to the start of the volleyball season.
Although she said that heart checks are not part of a standard physical, her doctor encouraged her to have one.
That conversation helped encourage Edvardsson to launch a community initiative to help raise awareness about sudden cardiac arrest in students and to “help save lives through education, prevention and preparedness,” she said.
Edvardsson helped recruit two of her junior classmates, Sophia Zholob and Amarina Kriko, to be part of her mission.
The initiative that was launched is called “WB Has Heart,” and its objectives include for students to get heart checks, for West Bloomfield High to become an official MIHEARTSafe school and to raise funds to accomplish the mission.
The group has been making steady progress since launching the initiative.
On Oct. 16, in partnership with the West Bloomfield Fire Department, free CPR training is being offered for students at West Bloomfield High.
On Feb. 1, in partnership with Corewell Health, a student heart check will be offered at West Bloomfield High.
Edvardsson was awarded a $1,000 Rachel Ekezian Changemaker scholarship from West Bloomfield Youth Assistance to help launch the initiative, and she said the goal is to make it not just a high school project, but something that can help the entire community.
“It’s a big issue,” she said. “So, 300 Michigan children and young adults die every year of sudden cardiac arrest.”
A website has been launched to help the group spread awareness. According to the site, which is wbhasheart.com, sudden cardiac arrest is the leading cause of death for student-athletes.
The physician that Edvardsson met with is Dr. Ilana Kutinsky, who is a cardiologist and electrophysiologist at Corewell Health William Beaumont University Hospital. She said the most common cause for sudden cardiac death in kids is hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a thickening of the muscle of the heart that leads to abnormal heart rhythms, which can be life-threatening.
“It can frequently happen during exercise, which is why we see it during high school athletics,” Kutinsky said.
According to Kutinsky, the most significant risk factor is family history.
“Otherwise, a lot of times it’s silent,” she said. “That’s why it’s so important to screen for these diseases.”
The group’s initiative has been met with support from other students. Recently, on World Heart Day, they gave away stickers and prizes and encouraged students to wear red.
“It went really well,” Zholob said. “We told everyone to get in red and we passed out stickers just to kind of inform everybody about it. Things are going good so far.”
Kriko acknowledged the support that the group has received from other students.
“A lot of people came to school with red on,” she said. “I felt accomplished. … People are asking me, ‘What is this initiative?’ and how they can get involved.”
According to Edvardsson, the criteria for becoming a MIHEARTSafe school includes having some coaches and staff members at the school who are trained in CPR, having automated external defibrillators at the school, which can be used to treat someone who has experienced sudden cardiac arrest, and having a drill to prepare for an emergency.
In order to officially be recognized as a MIHEARTSafe school, according to Edvardsson, “We just need a drill to happen.”
Edvardsson said that although a lot of people don’t think that they need to have a heart check, cardiac arrest can happen “anytime, anywhere.”
“There has been cases where it’s happened in classrooms,” she said. “Around 15,000 children in Michigan have been screened, and out of those 15,000, almost 2,000 needed to follow up with a doctor, so it’s pretty common, and among those, I believe, seven were diagnosed with the most serious detectable heart issue. So I believe everyone should get their heart checked just so they can be safe.”