Silicon Valley screens high school athletes for silent killer

It’s a silent killer that could happen to any high school student: sudden cardiac arrest. One school district wants to make sure it prevents another tragedy.

The Los Gatos-Saratoga Union High School District is the second public school district in the state to require heart screenings for all student athletes, 16 years after Los Gatos High School student and football player Michael Halpin collapsed and died from sudden cardiac arrest in 2008. The nonprofit Kyle J. Taylor Foundation has expanded the program into the district after its initial launch in the Campbell Union High School District two years ago. The nonprofit is now working to implement the screenings statewide.

District Nurse Lisa Tripp helped spearhead the heart screening efforts in the district that serves about 3,180 students in Los Gatos and Saratoga. She wanted to implement heart screenings after Halpin died, but couldn’t find an affordable organization until she happened upon the Kyle J. Taylor Foundation.

“My thought was if we find one (student), it’s worth all this trouble,” she told San José Spotlight.

The weekend before school started on Aug. 13, about 400 student athletes filed into the district’s schools for screenings to get their vitals taken and an EKG. Slots filled up almost immediately, officials said. Volunteer doctors on site relayed the results to the students after an estimated 40-minute assessment, identifying three athletes at risk for sudden cardiac arrest. They were instructed to seek additional care from their primary physicians. The screenings will happen throughout the year.

The identified students are part of the one in 300 children who have an undiagnosed heart condition, according to medical data.

Doctors screened Los Gatos High School sophomore Sophie Riese, an avid athlete involved in flag football, basketball and track and field. Riese is glad she signed up for the screening after witnessing her friend experience cardiac issues last year.

“I never really realized that he had any kind of heart problems, and I don’t think he did either,” she told San José Spotlight. “It kind of made me realize, it could happen to anyone — like it could happen to me.”

The Kyle J. Taylor Foundation began in 2018 after executive director Jennifer Sarmento lost her son Kyle Taylor, a soccer player, to sudden cardiac arrest. He had recently graduated from Leigh High School. Sarmento said she had no idea this could happen to a seemingly healthy child.

The foundation first introduced screenings in 2022 to Campbell Union High School District, which includes Taylor’s alma mater. CUHSD became the first public school district statewide to require heart assessments for all of its athletes.

Sarmento said the goal is to standardize these screenings as a regular part of a child’s check-ups so the nonprofit doesn’t have to host these events. In the near future, she wants the program to expand to underserved students who may not have access to health care.

“Never in our wildest dreams did we think it was going to grow the way it is,” she told San José Spotlight. “But it definitely warms my heart to see that people see the value in what we’re doing.”

Ken Perrotti, Los Gatos High School athletic director, said he’s supportive of the screenings after witnessing Halpin’s death in 2008.

“If it’s something that’s completely preventable, why wouldn’t you do all you could do to make sure that our students are safe?” he told San José Spotlight. “It’s a no-brainer.”

After receiving her clean bill of health, Riese is back on the field throwing a football and ready for the school year. She said the screening was worth it.

“It’s painless, it’s quick, and it gives you that peace of mind when you’re done with it — like, there’s no point in not doing it,” she said.

Contact Annalise Freimarck at [email protected] or follow @annalise_ellen on X, formerly known as Twitter.