Sports Heart Screening
We screen athletes for heart conditions such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and arrhythmia. Our sports clearance EKGs are provided at no cost to the patient with a doctor’s prescription.
Many schools in South Florida now require athletes to have an EKG (electrocardiogram) before participating in organized sports. An EKG can help detect certain abnormal heart rhythms and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy – a condition linked to sudden death in athletes.
Call us for more information or to schedule an appointment
954-265-3437Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital offers an EKG screening for sports evaluations at no cost to the patient. A cardiology team member will perform the EKG, and an interpretation will be completed by a cardiologist.
To schedule an EKG for a sports evaluation at no cost to the patient, please call 954-265-3437.
What Is a Sports Clearance EKG?
Because your heart is under more stress during sports, it’s important to make sure it is functioning to its fullest. An EKG is a simple, quick, noninvasive test to record your heart’s electrical activity.
We can learn a lot about your heart from studying how your heart beats. EKGs can help detect hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and certain kinds of arrhythmias.
Sports Clearance EKG: Why Choose Us?
Each year, through our sports screening program, we diagnose and treat student athletes with potentially life-threatening heart abnormalities.
As a leader in heart imaging for the region, we offer:
Patients (or their parents) who obtain a pediatric EKG testing at no cost to them under this program may not seek reimbursement for the test from any federal health care program, commercial insurer, or other third-party payor.
The pediatric EKG at no cost to the patient or parents constitutes a net discount. If the patient is a Medicare or other federal health care program beneficiary, the patient (or parent) may be obligated to report this discount to the program upon request, pursuant to 42 C.F.R. 1001.952(h).
The patient’s ability to obtain a pediatric EKG test at no cost to them is not contingent in any way on his or her purchase or order of any other items or services from Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital or its Medical Staff. To be a part of this program, the patient may use any pediatrician, regardless of whether or not that pediatrician is a member of Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital Medical Staff.
We often use stress perfusion cardiac MRI to diagnose cardiomyopathy or learn more about a child’s cardiomyopathy. This noninvasive test uses a drug to mimic the effects of exercise on the heart. Stress perfusion cardiac MRI has helped us catch high-risk cardiomyopathy in children who had previously been classified as low risk.
Learn more about heart imaging.
If we do diagnose cardiomyopathy, our hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) program offers comprehensive treatment options.
We can treat other conditions, such as arrhythmias, with procedures such as cardiac ablation.
EKG: What to Expect
An EKG is a noninvasive, painless test.
- There is no electrical charge or shock. In fact, you will not feel anything during the test.
- You will lie down on a table, and a nurse or technician will attach electrodes to your chest, arms and legs. Electrodes are small pads that safely conduct the electric current from your body into the reporting machine.
- We connect the electrodes by wires to the EKG machine, which records your heart’s electrical activity on a computer.
- The test only takes a few minutes. We’ll remove the electrodes as soon as it’s finished.
- A cardiologist reviews the results and sends them directly to your pediatrician (this takes a few days). If the EKG results appear abnormal, our on-call cardiologist will look at them before you leave to make a follow-up appointment.
- Parents can stay with their child throughout the entire procedure.
How to prepare for an EKG
- Do not wear oily or greasy skin creams and lotions because they can prevent the electrode from making skin contact.
- Do not wear full-length stockings because electrodes need to be placed directly on the legs.
- Wear a shirt that can be easily removed.
Our Locations
Memorial Medical Office Centre
1150 North 35th Avenue, Suite 490
Hollywood FL 33021
Memorial Hospital Miramar
Memorial Division of Pediatric Cardiology
1971 SW 172nd Avenue, 2nd Floor
Miramar, FL 33029
Memorial Division of Pediatric Cardiology
345 Jupiter Lakes Blvd., Suite 302 A & B
Jupiter, FL 33458
Memorial Division of Pediatric Cardiology
1850 SW Fountainview Blvd., Suite 201
Port St. Lucie, FL 34986
