WAUKESHA, Wis. – The Kai Lermer Memorial Fund teaming up with HeartSmart EKG Tuesday to provide 500 students in Wisconsin an EKG screening making it the largest independent EGK screening in the state.
I’m in Waukesha with the Kai Lermer Memorial Fund where 500 students in Wisconsin will receive an EKG screening. Partnering with HeartSmart EKG, this is the largest independent EKG screening in the state. pic.twitter.com/p1a78N4ysP
— Jason Smith (@thejsonsmith) August 9, 2022
The initiative was founded by Mike and Patty Lermer, the parents of Kai Lermer who was just 16 years old when he randomly collapsed in cardiac arrest while playing basketball with a few friends. Turns out he had an undiagnosed heart condition known as Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome.
“The significance of this is being proactive,” Mike said. “A lot of the people you see and a lot of things we’ve done have been reactive when you have an AED or learn CPR when somebody has already collapsed. An EKG screen is 86 percent effective in diagnosing a heart condition and that’s a proactive way of identifying a heart issue with a young athlete.”
Kai’s mom, Patty Lermer, says the goal of the event is to be proactive in preventing sudden cardiac arrest. This is the 3rd annual event and they plan to continue it every year as EKG screenings are 86% effective in diagnosing a heart condition. pic.twitter.com/XVu0ZQ0Yhd
— Jason Smith (@thejsonsmith) August 9, 2022
Mike pointed to UW-Whitewater basketball player Derrick Gray who passed away last week from an undiagnosed heart condition when speaking on the prevalence of unknown cardiac problems in young people, especially young athletes.
“Since our son Kai passed in April of 2019,” Mike said, “I am personally aware of 5 sudden cardiac arrest in student athletes in just southeast Wisconsin. The American Heart Association’s stat is 24,000 student athletes pass away every year for a sudden cardiac arrest.”
For more information on future events check out their Facebook page, click here.