(WBBM NEWSRADIO) – After screening nearly 108,000 local teens for hidden heart problems over 17 years, a suburban foundation is shutting down its program.
The parents of Max Schewitz started the foundation in his name shortly after the seemingly healthy Lake Bluff 20-year-old died of sudden cardiac arrhythmia in 2005.
Executive Director Kathy Aykroid says they’ve referred more than 1,000 high school students to cardiologists after conducting free or low-cost EKGs.
She tells WBBM Newsradio they find problems at every screening event - including one student in February who had open heart surgery in April.
Amid the pandemic, schools restricted parent volunteers on campus, so the foundation had to hire staff for screening -- raising costs at a time many are ready to retire.
The bittersweet decision to close comes as Aykroid estimates one in every 300 young adults has a hidden heart condition.
The Max Schewitz Foundation plans to hold screenings at high schools in Waukesha, Libertyville, Deerfield, New Trier and Lake Forest before it closes in October.
Parents can request a copy of their children’s old test results through the Heartsmart EKG website.
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