Free Heart Screenings Offered for Ramona Teens Sunday

Editor's note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the screenings were on Saturday. They are, in fact, on Sunday. Patch sincerely regrets the error.

A rather timely free heart screening for teens will be conducted Sunday at Orange Glen High School in Escondido and Ramonans are encouraged to attend.

The Eric Paredes Save A Life Foundation has been providing thousands of free screenings to detect heart anomalies that usually go undetected since 2010.

According to a press release, 740 teens from Ramona have been screened by the foundation, with 21 of those found with abnormalities and 11 found "at risk."

The free screenings come just over a week after 16-year-old Ramona High student Taylor Dorman passed away after getting struck in the chest with a softball. Dorman's mother said the San Diego Medical Examiner found Dorman's heart to be enlarged. An official autopsy report has not yet been released.

The Eric Paredes Save A Life Foundation helps detect heart anomalies in teens that are normally undetected. The non-profit was established after Eric Paredes, a Steele Canyon High School teen, lost his life at 15 to Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) in 2009.

The foundation's purpose is to educate parents, educators, physicians and elected officials on the prevalence of SCA among teens and the importance of standardizing EKGs for annual physicals.

“SCA is not a heart attack. It’s an abnormality in the heart’s electrical system that may be detected with a simple EKG, but these screenings are not a part of our kids’ regular checkups,” said Hector and Rhina Paredes, Eric’s parents. “It only takes a few minutes to prevent a tragedy that can be a heartbeat away, so we are dedicated to doing all we can to make these screenings and cardiac equipment accessible to teens and their families.”

The foundation reports that for every 1,000 kids screened, 20 will be at risk for SCA.

Ramona teens can be screened for free Sunday, April 21 at Orange Glen High, located at 2200 Glenridge Rd. in Escondido. The screenings will be from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. and you can register at epsavealife.org.

Screenings consist of a health history questionnaire completed by a parent, an electrocardiogram (EKG), and if indicated, an echocardiogram. Valued at $90 to $1,500, this free screening takes less than 30 minutes and is completely non‐invasive (no needles or x-ray exposure).