ORLANDO, Fla. — Starting July 1st, all new Florida high school athletes will have to undergo heart screenings. This is due to the new state law.
Who We Play For is partnering with Orlando Health to provide electrocardiograms, ECG’s, to catch sudden cardiac arrest before it happens.
“He had a helmet, wrist pads, knee pads, everything to protect him,” Martha Lopez-Anderson, a mother whose son died of sudden cardiac arrest, said. “I didn’t know, I didn’t know sudden cardiac arrest could strike seemingly healthy children.”
Her son, Sean, passed away from SCA when he was 10 years old.
Lopez-Anderson is now a strong supporter of the Second Chance Act, which requires all new high school student-athletes to have a successful heart screening for the 2026-2027 school year.
“We want them to play the sport they love, and we want to make sure they are safe to play,” Lopez-Anderson said.
The non-invasive screenings take less than 5 minutes. Small, pad-like band-aids are stuck to a person’s chest, and results are sent to a cardiologist for review.
19-year-old Riley Broadhurst is a UCF student who suffered from cardiac arrest two years ago and is now screened regularly.
“I collapsed in the yard of a retired firefighter; a retired military saw me collapse and ran over and started CPR,” Broadhurst said. “The retired firefighter was home and gave me CPR. A retired ER nurse came out and gave me CPR. The tree of them saved my life until EMS arrived five minutes later.”
Sudden cardiac arrest is the leading cause of death on school campuses for student athletes.
Which is why survivors and champions for change are urging you to get screened.
“It’s so quick and so easy,” Broadhurst said. “Go get screened.”
“Eventually, we want to see this expand to the entire pediatric population,” Lopez-Anderson said. “That’s really how we’re going to save all lives.”
Orlando Health and Who We Play For will host heart screenings on Saturday, May 9th, starting at 9:30 a.m. You can register here: Find a Heart Screening — Who We Play For
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