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Proud Member of the NFL’s Smart Heart
Sports Coalition
A collaboration to affect cardiac emergency preparedness in schools and youth sports.
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Learn Life-Saving Skills From Home
Use new technology to be prepared to save a life and you'll support our mission to protect young hearts!
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Sudden Cardiac Death in youth is preventable!
But that doesn’t happen by chance. Take the Prevention Promise now to prepare yourself and your community to save a life.
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Call Push Shock
Parent Heart Watch and the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation have teamed up during CPR/AED Awareness Week to empower you to save the life of a sudden cardiac arrest victim.
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SCA is the #1 killer
of student athletes
Active youth are at greater risk for Sudden Cardiac Arrest. Make sure their heart is ready to play—get a heart screening.
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Contributes to #2 medical
cause of death under age 25SCA strikes the equivalent of nearly one youth every hour, each day, year after year. Find out what you can do to protect young hearts.
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Leading cause of death on school campuses
Cardiac Emergency Response Plans Save Lives
Create a culture of preparedness at your school by having a written and well-practiced CERP with CPR-trained staff and accessible AEDs.
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1 in 300 youth is at risk
for an undetected heart condition72% of youth stricken by SCA had at least one symptom before the event—they just didn’t recognize it as life threatening.
The Reality of SCA in Youth

1 LOSS

2 SAVES
BASED ON NEWS STORIES THIS YEAR,
AND ONLY A FRACTION OF ACTUAL EVENTS
Our Mission
Parent Heart Watch is the national organization solely dedicated to protecting children and young adults from
sudden cardiac arrest and preventable sudden cardiac death by educating and advocating for change.
What We’re Doing About it

1,145,513
YOUTH SCREENED

835,756
CPR/AED TRAINED

11,697
AEDs PLACED
How You Can Help Us Protect Young Hearts
Stories of Survival and Loss
Karen Acompora
I remember the first year I was traveling to speak about sudden cardiac arrest prevention in youth and realized we needed a coalition to make a difference. Because of Parent Heart Watch, families are inspired and motivated to do something—that the loss of their son or daughter is not in vain. To have these kinds of champions around the country has truly made sudden cardiac arrest prevention in youth a national movement.
Zac Mago
After losing our perfectly healthy 17-year-old son to an undetected heart condition in 2018, I was at a loss for answers. Zac passed every well check, pre-participation sports physical and in 2014 a pediatric heart exam including an ECG and full Echo, which came back normal. The autopsy provided few answers. The call I made to PHW changed our lives. Martha answered the phone and said, “honey, what did the autopsy say?” I told her and she said, “that is called sudden cardiac arrest.” In one conversation Martha explained what doctors before had not. To say PHW has changed our lives is an understatement. We founded the Zac Mago Foundation to provide heart screenings to our youth. This endeavor was made possible through the resources and support provided by PHW. Being a member of this organization brought people into our lives that understood SCA and helped us realize that SCA is not RARE. I love that PHW provides a balance between loss and life. Without the PHW family, I would most likely still be searching for answers.
Salim Idriss, MD, PhD
The CSRC launched an initiative two years ago to establish a sustainable national resource related to prevention of SCA/SCDY. Parent Heart Watch has been a key collaborative partner from the inception of this initiative, given their national presence and knowledge and commitment to SCA/SCDY prevention. PHW continues to take a leadership role in our efforts to create a national screening standard. They are instrumental in leveraging input from community screening foundations, especially as we embark on a landmark pilot study to unify screening data collection practices and establish what is normal in ECG interpretation in youth.
Norm Okerstrom
When our son, Teddy, survived Sudden Cardiac Arrest in 2009, it was emotionally tough for all of us. With no medical diagnosis and a lot of unanswered questions, it was Parent Heart Watch members who provided immediate support. At our first Heart to Heart in 2010, we met other parents who inspired us to share Ted’s story of survival as a means of educating others about how youth heart screenings and Cardiac Emergency Response Plans save lives. PHW provides resources that augment my CPR and AED training, and I am part of a national, unified voice that advocates for change.
Ralph Thibodeau
If it wasn’t for Parent Heart Watch, Deb and I would’ve foundered in our loss of Josh. They helped us set a direction, preserve his memory and create a legacy. The very first collaboration event was the genesis for our foundation – we got a baseline model for a heart screening program. They helped us build a mission, and we continue to improve and be informed by their communications.
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Louis J. Acompora Memorial Foundation
Aidan's Heart Foundation
Cody Stephens Go Big or Go Home Memorial Foundation
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Dominic A. Murray 21 Memorial Foundation
Eric Paredes Save A Life Foundation
Lion Heart Heroes Foundation
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Matthew Mangine, Jr. Foundation
Justin Carr Wants World Peace
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Fiorelli Family
Anderson Family
Okerstrom Family
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Zac Mago Foundation
MEMBER GIFTS