PRINTER'S NO. 4042
No. 818 Session of 2008
INTRODUCED BY M. SMITH, BEYER, BISHOP, BRENNAN, CALTAGIRONE,
CLYMER, COHEN, CREIGHTON, DeWEESE, DiGIROLAMO, DONATUCCI,
FLECK, FRANKEL, GEIST, GEORGE, GIBBONS, GINGRICH, GOODMAN,
GRUCELA, HERSHEY, HESS, JAMES, KORTZ, MAHER, MAJOR, MANN,
MANTZ, MELIO, MOYER, MUSTIO, NAILOR, O'NEILL, PALLONE,
PASHINSKI, PAYNE, QUINN, RAMALEY, READSHAW, ROSS, SAINATO,
SAYLOR, SCAVELLO, SIPTROTH, SWANGER, THOMAS, VULAKOVICH,
WOJNAROSKI, YOUNGBLOOD, MYERS, J. WHITE, WALKO, TRUE, KULA,
EVERETT, REICHLEY AND MICOZZIE, JUNE 25, 2008
INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35,
JUNE 25, 2008
A RESOLUTION
1 Recognizing July 12 and 13, 2008, as "Sudden Arrhythmia Death
2 Syndromes Days" in Pennsylvania.
3 WHEREAS, Sudden Arrhythmia Death Syndromes (SADS) are
4 inherited heart conditions that can cause sudden death in young,
5 apparently healthy people; and
6 WHEREAS, Unexpected cardiac arrhythmias cause 400,000 deaths
7 annually, of which 3,976 are young people under 35 years of age;
8 and
9 WHEREAS, Children are the largest group affected by these
10 conditions; and
11 WHEREAS, Symptoms may include fainting, seizures during or
12 immediately after exercise, excitement or being startled, chest
13 pain that is constant or unusual and shortness of breath during
14 exercise; and
1 WHEREAS, Most of these deaths can be prevented if the
2 condition is diagnosed and treated in advance; and
3 WHEREAS, Conditions include Long QT Syndrome and hypertrophic
4 cardiomyopathy; and
5 WHEREAS, Long QT Syndrome occurs three times more than
6 childhood leukemia and is a condition which causes the heart's
7 electrical rhythm to become irregular; and
8 WHEREAS, Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is the most frequent
9 cause of sudden cardiac death in young people; and
10 WHEREAS, Nathan Khosla, a student graduating from Mount
11 Lebanon High School, undertook SADS awareness for his Eagle
12 Scout project by organizing free screenings to search for
13 cardiac conditions in students, athletes and adults in his
14 community; and
15 WHEREAS, The screenings will include electrocardiograms,
16 questionnaires in regard to heart health, blood pressure
17 readings and body mass index calculations; and
18 WHEREAS, Nathan Khosla will provide free literature to
19 educate those in his community about SADS and other cardiac
20 problems, focusing on Long QT Syndrome; and
21 WHEREAS, The SADS Foundation is a nonprofit charitable
22 organization that is dedicated to educating society and
23 supporting the families and children who are at risk to sudden
24 death due to cardiac arrhythmias; therefore be it
25 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives recognize July 12
26 and 13, 2008, as "Sudden Arrhythmia Death Syndromes Days" in
27 Pennsylvania.
F11L82SFL/20080H0818R4042 - 2 -