Sentara continues cardiac screenings for Old Dominion University athletes
Millions of TV viewers watched in horror as Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin fell to the turf during a Monday Night football game with what turned out to be cardiac arrest. Hamlin survived and made a full recovery but cardiac health is now part of the national conversation in high-level sports.
Sentara Cardiologist George Sarris has partnered with Old Dominion University Athletics since 2017 to prevent cardiac events in athletes. Nearly all ODU athletes, especially those in contact sports, receive a cardiac screening exam before first stepping onto the field or the court.
The screenings take place on the ODU campus, or at Sentara Fort Norfolk Medical Plaza. Athletes receive cardiac screening in small groups throughout the day.
“Very few schools offer this,” said Dr. Wood Selig, ODU’s director of athletics. “The NCAA wants student-athletes to have healthcare and insurance when they’re in school and for years beyond being a student-athlete.”
“There have been a handful of athletes we’ve identified with congenital heart disease who otherwise wouldn’t have known it,” Dr. Sarris says. “Some of these students have graduated and moved on. I’d like to think that we’ve made a positive impact on their lives while pursuing the Sentara mission to improve health every day.”
“We got ahead of this a long time ago. And we’re not just taking care of student-athletes after the fact, but we’re taking care of them from the minute they walk on campus,” Dr. Selig said.
Sentara Cardiologist George Sarris has partnered with Old Dominion University Athletics since 2017 to prevent cardiac events in athletes. Nearly all ODU athletes, especially those in contact sports, receive a cardiac screening exam before first stepping onto the field or the court.
The screenings take place on the ODU campus, or at Sentara Fort Norfolk Medical Plaza. Athletes receive cardiac screening in small groups throughout the day.
“Very few schools offer this,” said Dr. Wood Selig, ODU’s director of athletics. “The NCAA wants student-athletes to have healthcare and insurance when they’re in school and for years beyond being a student-athlete.”
“There have been a handful of athletes we’ve identified with congenital heart disease who otherwise wouldn’t have known it,” Dr. Sarris says. “Some of these students have graduated and moved on. I’d like to think that we’ve made a positive impact on their lives while pursuing the Sentara mission to improve health every day.”
“We got ahead of this a long time ago. And we’re not just taking care of student-athletes after the fact, but we’re taking care of them from the minute they walk on campus,” Dr. Selig said.