Texas Heart Institute Offers Houston MRI Screening Study
Too often, we hear about some young student-athlete who dies suddenly in the middle of a game or at a team practice. The Center for Coronary Artery Anomalies at the Texas Heart Institute is doing breakthrough research on the prevention of sudden cardiac death in the young. Such cases of sudden cardiac death are tied to heart conditions, which certain children are born with and which are difficult to detect.
This is prevention-oriented research on the means to identify children who may have those undetected heart conditions that can lead to sudden cardiac death. This novel study is aimed at the general population of Houston-area middle school-age children whether they engage in organized sports or not.
Participation in the study is simple: It involves completing a brief medical history questionnaire, an electrocardiogram, and simplified cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). This research study is based on good science, has been approved by an independent institutional review board (ethics committee), and will follow all federal and state rules for such studies. Parents and students will have access to all the information and documents they will need to arrive at informed decisions regarding participation in these studies.
The Texas Heart Institute has arranged for screening studies to be done during the 2012 summer vacation from June to September 2012, for all Houston area middle school students, including students that just completed the eighth grade.
Screenings will take place at a Texas Heart facility located in the Medical Center in Houston.
• Participation in this study is entirely voluntary.
• The tests involve very little risk and are completed in less than one hour.
• The tests involve no injections or medications.
• Testing will be done only with a parent’s or guardian’s written consent, and all test results will be confidential.
• A letter with the results of the tests will be sent to parents/guardians by mail.
• There is no cost to participants or their parents for these tests.
We invite interested parents/guardians to contact the Center for Coronary Artery Anomalies by calling 713-218-2112, or email ccaa@texasheart.org for additional information or to schedule your child for a screening study. Additional information about the Texas Heart Institute and the Center for Coronary Artery Anomalies is available at www.texasheart.org/research/ccaa.
