WWPF has screened over 100,000 people
Above video: “Who We Fight For” Heart Screening today at the Fitness Club Merritt Island from 3pm to 6pm. Sean Sima of “Who We Fight For” talks about the importance of getting young people tested for heart screening. Fitness Club Merritt Island Lou spoke with Denise’s owner about the inspiration for the event.
Above video: Steve Wilson of the Friday Night Locker Room chats with Shawn Sima of “Who We Play For” about recent heart screening legislation passed in Tallahassee.
BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — In the latest episode of “Sit Down with Steve,” Steve Wilson from the Friday night locker room sits down with Sean Seema to talk about Tallahassee’s recent passing legislation related to cardiac screening.
Sima talks about an event that changed his life forever and now plays a big role in who we are fighting for.
Sean mentioned the importance of being aware of cardiac arrest, especially when we are young.
During the programming, Sima reviews the importance of learning CPR and how to use an AED device.
About “Who We Fight For”
The story of who we fight for begins on November 30, 2007, on the goal line of the Cocoa Beach High School football field, when Rafe Maccarone suffers a post-cardiac arrest (SCA) while warming up before practice ).
The next day, December 1, 2007, Rafe passed away from what we later learned was a condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) that caused his cardiac arrest. The reality that a seemingly healthy, active 15-year-old boy who passed all his athletic physicals could die of a heart attack while playing his favorite sport shocked our community.
An even more shocking reality we face is that not only is Rafe’s condition detectable and actually the leading cause of SCA in sports, but several countries have long ago recognized youth SCA as a huge public health concerns and have screening programs in place to identify at-risk children before they enter the playground. Abroad, in countries such as Italy, these efforts have reduced the incidence of cardiac arrest by 89%.
This is a reality our community refuses to accept for our students, so in 2014 we established WWPF as a 501 c3 and began working with schools in Florida and 6 other states to provide affordable ECG screening. Our goal has always been to show the nation that it is not only imperative, but possible to provide affordable ECG screening to every child, regardless of their exercise level, socioeconomic status or geographic location.
To date, WWPF has screened more than 100,000 people in more than 300 communities in seven states. We have identified 76 people who required some level of medical intervention, including a heart transplant, and hundreds of other abnormalities that can now be monitored.
The soul of WWPF has always been to represent thousands of children each year, such as Rafe, who suffer cardiac arrest from detectable heart disease, and the community to seek solutions in the wake of these tragedies. Every community we’ve served and will serve in the future has been impacted by SCA in some way, and their stories help strengthen our mission to end preventable sudden cardiac death in adolescents.
