CAREGIVER • SUNDAY, MAY 9, 2021 • 9
Joe Didn’t Think He Could
Afford Quality Hearing Aids...
Introducing the
Rametta Audiology
COMPREHENSIVE
©Piers Baker
HEARING CARE PROGRAM!
ONE Low Monthly Payment=
4 A Pair of Quality Hearing Instruments
4 Chargeable Batteries & Charging Unit
4 Warranty for the Length of Membership
4 Service for the Length of Membership
$500 OFF
Comprehensive Hearing
Care Plan Membership
416 4th Ave.
Tarentum
724-224-6811
141 Columbia Ave.
Vandergrift
724-567-7381
Now Everyone Can
Enjoy the Benefits
of Better Hearing!
www.RamettaHearing.com
Take Players on Pennsylvania’s Big 33 it football team to received heart screenings in April thanks in
part to the Peyton Walker Foundation.
heart Peyton Walker Foundation stresses the
importance of heart screenings in young
athletes who have had covid-19
Ever since losing her daughter to sudden
cardiac arrest at the age of 19, Julie Walker
has made it her mission to stop the same
thing from happening to other families.
The Peyton Walker Foundation has helped
provide free heart screenings for students
surrounding her hometown of Harrisburg,
partnered with health organizations across
the state, including UPMC, to raise awareness
of the issue. She even helped pass state
legislation aimed at preventing sudden cardiac
death in young people.
Now she’s helping to get the word out
that for young athletes who have contracted
covid-19 in the past year, the need for a heart
screening might be even greater.
“We recommend talking to your kids about
the signs and symptoms that could signify
an underlying heart issue,” Walker said.
“Shortness of breath is a big one, chest pain
or pressure, palpitations, racing heartbeat,
passing out. Have the conversation with your
kids and ask them if they’re feeling anything
like this, and you’ll definitely want to hear
from your primary care doctor and have an
evaluation based on these symptoms.”
To be certain, Walker believes that heart
screenings should be the standard of care for
all children. An electrocardiogram, or EKG,
can detect the electrical disturbances in the
heart that can lead to sudden cardiac arrest.
Simply listening to a heart cannot.
The foundation, which was started after
Peyton died in 2013, provides four to six
heart screenings per year at different Central
Pennsylvania schools.
One of the foundation’s victories during
the past year was seeing Pennsylvania Senate
Bill 836, or Peyton’s Law, signed in July
2020. The act was based on similar legislation
in Texas and built off the Sudden Cardiac
Arrest Prevention Act, which requires
student-athletes and their parents to receive
and acknowledge information about the
symptoms and warning signs of sudden cardiac
arrest as part of the pre-participation
physical exam forms from the Pennsylvania
Interscholastic Athletic Association.
Because of Peyton’s Law, they must now
by KAREN PRICE
COURTESY OF PEYTON WALKER FOUNDATION