ASU brings awareness to sudden cardiac arrest in Black athletes through screening event

ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) - Sudden cardiac arrest in athletes is continuing to be a topic of discussion across the country and right here in Southwest Georgia.

Thursday, Albany State University held a schoolwide heart screening event in partnership with CareSource of Georgia and another non-profit called Who We Play for.

Who we play for is an organization that educates people on sudden cardiac arrest and prevention. In Thursday’s event, they brought 12 lead EKG systems that screen for any predisposed symptoms of cardiac arrest. The screening takes at least 30 seconds to complete and once finished, the results are emailed back.

“The goal is to raise awareness to certain cardiac arrest amongst black colleges and universities,” Tony Gray, CareSource of Georgia Market Service manager, said.

“It’s like very important because you know we’re not doctors ourselves, so we’re not able to, like, pay attention to our body and mind like that. We might not be paying attention how hard we might be going at all times.” Damien Williams, an ASU football player, said.

CareSource of Georgia and Who we play for will be touring other HBCUs in the state of Georgia to give more Black student-athletes access to screenings.

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