WHERE WE ARE
Millions of young people participate in organized sports across the United States, yet ECG heart screening is not routinely part of the standard sports physical.
In our first 1,700+ ECG heart screenings, approximately 3% produced an abnormal finding requiring further evaluation, and seven young athletes were identified with potentially life-threatening conditions. Many heart conditions can exist without obvious warning signs, leaving young athletes and their families unaware that further evaluation may be needed.
Sudden Cardiac Death is a devastating loss no family should ever have to experience. While no screening can prevent every tragedy or identify every heart condition, ECG screening can help identify certain abnormalities that may otherwise go undetected.
1,700+ screened | ~3% abnormal findings | 7 potentially life-threatening conditions identified
THE OPPORTUNITY IN FRONT OF US
Through our MOU with the Clark County School District, USA for Athletes has an opportunity to reach approximately 25,000 young athletes ages 10–17. The access exists. Now we need the capacity to reach them.
WHAT IT TAKES TO SCALE
Reaching athletes at scale requires the medical expertise, technology, supplies, secure data systems and operational support behind every ECG screening.
Physician interpretation
Clinical oversight
Training
Devices · Deployment · Technical infrastructure
Electrodes · Consumables · Screening materials
Data management · Privacy · Family access
Schools · Staffing · Logistics · Screening operations
Education · Advocacy · VFA Summer Games
A PATH TOWARD STATEWIDE CHANGE
When the importance of ECG heart screening was presented to Nevada policymakers in 2024, one of the fundamental questions was how screening could realistically be implemented at scale. The message was clear: before statewide implementation could be considered, the infrastructure to support it had to exist.
USA for Athletes has spent the years since working to build that foundation screening athletes, developing medical partnerships, establishing school and community relationships, and creating the operational model needed to reach significantly more young people.
If you believe every young athlete deserves the opportunity to compete with greater confidence in their heart health, we invite you to help us build what it will take to make that possible. To learn more about supporting USA for Athletes, please contact Troy Roques, troy.roques@vegasforathletes.org.