What a difference a 5-minute heart screening can make.
That’s the message of the nonprofit group Who We Play For and the company Cardiac Insight, which brought the exams to Rancho Cucamonga on Monday, May 12.
Bryson Rauch, a 10th grader at Los Osos High School, receives an electrocardiogram Monday, May 12, 2025, for a cardiac screening event put on by the nonprofit Who We Play For and Cardiac Insight in Rancho Cucamonga. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG)
Students take eye exams as part of a health event offering free physicals at Los Osos High School in Rancho Cucamonga on Monday, May 12, 2025. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG)
Copper Alldredge, an 11th grader at Los Osos High School in Rancho Cucamonga, receives an electrocardiogram at a cardiac screening event staged by the nonprofit Who We Play For and Cardiac Insight on Monday, May 12, 2025. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG)
Who We Play For heart screening directors, from left, Hannah Debose and Alanha Rojas, conduct electrocardiograms for students during a cardiac screening for youths Monday, May 12, 2025, at Los Osos High School in Rancho Cucamonga. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG)
Electrocardiogram leads are seen on a table Monday, May 12, 2025, during a student cardiac screening event at Los Osos High School in Rancho Cucamonga. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG)
A Los Osos High School student takes an eye exam Monday, May 12, 2025, during a health event offering free physicals on the Rancho Cucamonga campus. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG)
Eighth grader Rosalie Pavia tries to figure out a weight reading Monday, May 12, 2025, during student health screenings at Los Osos High School in Rancho Cucamonga. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG)
Los Osos High School student Alexa Monroe takes the blood pressure of Tim Lopez during a health exam on the Rancho Cucamonga campus Monday, May 12, 2025. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG)
Alanha Rojas, heart screening director for Who We Play For, conducts an electrocardiogram for a student Monday, May 12, 2025, during a health event at Los Osos High School in Rancho Cucamonga. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG)
Lucas Garcia, a ninth grader at Los Osos High School in Rancho Cucamonga, receives an electrocardiogram Monday, May 12, 2025, from Who We Play For Heart Screening Director Alanha Rojas. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG)
Copper Alldredge, an 11th grader at Los Osos High School, receives an electrocardiogram Monday, May 12, 2025, during a student cardiac screening event put on by the nonprofit Who We Play For and Cardiac Insight in Rancho Cucamonga. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG)
Dino Ebel, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ third-base coach, signs baseballs for students at Los Osos High School on Monday, May 12, 2025, in Rancho Cucamonga during a heart screening event. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG)
Students at Los Osos High School in Rancho Cucamonga take eye exams Monday, May 12, 2025, during a health event. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG)
Hudson Kunzman, a 10th grader at Los Osos High School, receives an electrocardiogram from Who We Play For’s Heart Screening Director Hannah Debose and volunteer Isabella Scalzi during a cardiac screening event Monday, May 12, 2025, at the Rancho Cucamonga campus. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG)
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Bryson Rauch, a 10th grader at Los Osos High School, receives an electrocardiogram Monday, May 12, 2025, for a cardiac screening event put on by the nonprofit Who We Play For and Cardiac Insight in Rancho Cucamonga. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG)
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They set up in the Los Osos High School cafeteria for four hours of free cardiac screenings of Chaffey Joint Union High School District students as young as 10 years old. The event also included eye exams, blood pressure readings and other wellness checks.
The session’s main goal was to uncover unknown heart issues among children, including athletes, in an effort to prevent sudden cardiac arrest.
By conducting electrocardiograms — tests that measure the heart’s electrical activity — organizers hope to bring families confidence in their child’s health or start the path toward addressing any health issues that might be discovered.
The EKG events have included pro athletes, such as former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Joe Kelly, who showed up at a recent screening in Montclair. On Monday, Dodgers’ third-base coach and Inland Empire resident Dino Ebel signed autographs at Los Osos while supporting the event.
According to the group, sudden cardiac arrest is the No. 1 cause of death on campus and the top cause of death in sports. Regular wellness checks on students miss 96% of deadly heart conditions, making specific heart screenings so important, the group says.
One in 300 youth have a detectable and potentially life-threatening heart condition, the group reports. Also, 80% of sudden cardiac arrest victims had no symptoms until the heart problem occurred.
For information on the heart screenings, contact Mandi Chairez, liaison director for Cardiac Insight.
