August Koontz was a multi-sport student athlete. Strong and fit, with a passion for competition, he was like every other student during his senior year. He was intent on savoring every moment of his last year in high school and preparing for his future—a future that was cut short by an undiagnosed congenital heart condition: hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), the leading cause of sudden cardiac death in young athletes. Thanks to his parents, August’s spirit lives on with AugustHeart, a community-wide program dedicated to providing free heart screenings to student athletes, ages 14 to 18, in San Antonio and surrounding counties.
AugustHeart • 755 E. Mulberry Avenue, Suite 101 • San Antonio, TX 78212 • 210.841.9207
Out of tragedy comes hope. In October of 2008, August Koontz, an active and seemingly healthy young athlete from San Antonio died in his sleep at the age of 18. His death was the result of a genetic heart condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). HCM causes a thickening of the heart wall and can lead to obstruction of blood flow and an erratic heartbeat.
After Bart and Doré Koontz lost August so suddenly, they searched to find meaning in his death. Like most parents, they had never heard of HCM and were shocked to learn that August had it. He was like most kids his age: strong, robust and active. As they struggled to make sense of what happened they learned that HCM causes sudden cardiac death, happens without warning, and is detectable through a simple screening process. In May of 2011, Bart and Doré launched AugustHeart. The creation of AugustHeart established a unique and remarkable collaboration of San Antonio health care systems collectively dedicated to providing free heart screenings to students, ages 14-18, in San Antonio and surrounding counties.
-
“After two years of grieving for August the idea for AugustHeart just came to me—if we could screen kids for HCM we could save some lives. To paraphrase August, ‘It’s the right thing to do.’” – Bart Koontz
Modeled after the screening program developed by the Championship Hearts Foundation, AugustHeart is a community-wide effort involving the San Antonio area health care systems, a team of volunteer cardiologists, nurses, sonographers, technicians, area high school athletic programs, coaches, parents, sponsors and an army of volunteers. Prior to the beginning of the school year and throughout the year, AugustHeart will host free heart screening events in an effort to screen every student athlete in San Antonio and surrounding counties for HCM and other heart disorders. The ultimate goal is to screen all incoming The ultimate goal is to screen all incoming Bexar County freshmen on an annual basis.
© 2011-2012 AugustHeart. All rights reserved.
2nd Annual “Hearts of Texas” Benefit
Friday, August 17, 2012
PRESIDENT
Bart C. Koontz
VICE PRESIDENT
George Rodgers, M.D., FACC
Heart Clinic of San Antonio, Biophysical
SECRETARY & TREASURER
Troves B. Gilbert, Jr.
CHAIRMAN
Mark Johnson
DIRECTOR
J. Lance Lahourcade
South Texas Money Management, Ltd.
DIRECTOR
Robert M. Cavender
DIRECTOR
Stan S. Studer, Jr.
DIRECTOR
Lee Ann T. Jones
The Law Offices of Lee Ann T. Jones, P.C.
DIRECTOR
Diana Barrios Trevino
DIRECTOR
Sandra Laurel Ford
The Law Offices of Laurel & Ford
DIRECTOR
G. Kelly Sechler
Republic National Distributing Company
Staff
DIRECTORS
Pam Velasco
Holly Farmer
The AugustHeart Young Athlete Heart Screening Program provides free heart screenings to students, ages 14-18, in San Antonio and surrounding counties. Every year more than five Texas students die suddenly on the playing field, their lives cut short due to undiagnosed genetic heart conditions. Sudden surges of adrenaline can lead to sudden cardiac death on or off the playing field, the court, the track or in the pool. Affecting approximately 1 in 500 people, HCM is a genetic condition that touches many lives across generations. As children grow into adults, HCM begins to thicken the heart wall. Although HCM does not typically present any symptoms, it can lead to obstruction of blood flow and an erratic heartbeat. Fortunately, HCM and a host of other heart disorders are detectable with a simple screening process and can be treated.
Testing for HCM as student athletes enter high school makes sense for two key reasons:
-
•By high school the heart is fully mature, and
-
•Active students are pushed to a much higher level of exertion than ever before, putting more stress on the heart.
Identifying HCM in a student athlete can be a life-saving event.
3649
* Student screenings and referrals since August 2011
151
*
*