title: Implementation of ultraportable echocardiography in an adolescent sudden cardiac arrest screening program.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Over a 12-month period, adolescent heart-screening programs were performed for identifying at-risk adolescents for sudden cardiac death (SCD) in our community. Novel to our study, all adolescents received an abbreviated, ultraportable echocardiography (UPE). In this report, we describe the use of UPE in this screening program.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Four hundred thirty-two adolescents underwent cardiac screening with medical history questionnaire, physical examination, 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG), and an abbreviated transthoracic echocardiographic examination. There were 11 abnormalities identified with uncertain/varying clinical risk significance. In this population, 75 adolescents had a murmur or high ECG voltage, of which only three had subsequent structural abnormalities on echocardiography that may pose risk. Conversely, UPE discovered four adolescents who had a cardiovascular structural abnormality that was not signaled by the 12-lead ECG, medical history questionnaire, and/or physical examination.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The utilization of ultraportable, handheld echocardiography is feasible in large-scale adolescent cardiovascular screening programs. UPE appears to be useful for finding additional structural abnormalities and for risk-stratifying abnormalities of uncertain potential of adolescents' sudden death.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Michigan State University/Genesys Regional Medical Center/Ascension Health, Grand Blanc, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Thomas E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Vanhecke
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Michigan Medical School/Hurley Medical Center, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
authors.forename: James E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Weber
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Michigan State University/Genesys Regional Medical Center/Ascension Health, Grand Blanc, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ebinger
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Michigan State University/Genesys Regional Medical Center/Ascension Health, Grand Blanc, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Kimberly
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bonzheim
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Michigan State University/Genesys Regional Medical Center/Ascension Health, Grand Blanc, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tilli
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Michigan State University/Genesys Regional Medical Center/Ascension Health, Grand Blanc, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Sunilkumar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rao
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Michigan State University/Genesys Regional Medical Center/Ascension Health, Grand Blanc, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Abdulfatah
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Osman
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Michigan State University/Genesys Regional Medical Center/Ascension Health, Grand Blanc, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Silver
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Michigan State University/Genesys Regional Medical Center/Ascension Health, Grand Blanc, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Karsten
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fliegner
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Oakland University/William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Steve
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Almany
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Oakland University/William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, MI, USA.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Haines
keywords: sports screening; sudden cardiac arrest; ultraportable echocardiography