Play for Patrick, Simon's Heart to Hold Free Youth Heart Screening at Final Four

Patrick Semansky/Associated Press

In an effort to reduce the number of cardiac arrests among young athletes, Play for Patrick and Simon's Heart are providing free heart screenings for kids and adults ages 12-25 at the Final Four in Minneapolis. 

The physicals will take place on Sunday at Washburn High School for people who register at SimonsHeart.org.

According to a release, all examinations will include an ECG exam and an echocardiogram, which will help detect heart conditions that could lead to a cardiac arrest.

A study by the University of Washington concluded that sudden cardiac arrest is the No. 1 medical cause of death among NCAA student-athletes, while one in 3,100 male NCAA Division I basketball players are at risk each year.

Several college basketball players have previously been able to discover heart conditions through physicals before more damage was done, including Minnesota's Jarvis Johnson, Ohio State's Andre Wesson and Virginia Tech's Ty Outlaw.

These types of free screenings will hopefully lead to more early detections that will limit untimely deaths in the future.

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