Healthy athlete had no symptoms before mandatory heart screening revealed hidden defect

A high-school student-athlete with a potentially life-threatening heart defect had no symptoms and only learned of his condition through a screening required by Florida law.

The state’s Second Chance Act went into effect July 1 ahead of the 2026-2027 school year and requires students in grades 9 through 12 to undergo at least one electrocardiogram (ECG) screening the first time they participate in or try out for interscholastic athletics, with certain exceptions, affiliate FOX 13 Tampa Bay reported.

An ECG, also called an EKG, is a simple, noninvasive test that measures the heart’s electrical signals and can help identify irregular rhythms or other signs of heart trouble.

DIABETES DRUG COULD SLASH RISK OF FATAL HEART CONDITION IN ONE GROUP, SCIENTISTS REVEAL For Cameron Crider, a sophomore football and basketball player at Calvary Christian High School in Clearwater — which requires ECGs for all student athletes, the screening led doctors to discover an atrial septal defect (ASD), a congenital heart defect involving an opening in the wall between the heart’s two upper chambers.

If a significant ASD is left untreated, the extra blood flow can strain the heart and lungs over time and may lead to complications such as pulmonary hypertension (high blood pressure), heart failure, and, in some cases, stroke.

"I’ve been playing [sports] my whole life and didn’t notice anything, so I was surprised because I haven’t felt anything," Cameron told FOX 13.

"[Cam was] going to a three-hour football practice and then a two-hour basketball practice back-to-back, and never having fatigue or shortness of breath, or, you know, anything that you would think would be a warning sign," his mother, Laura Crider, told the station.

"So, we were completely shocked." CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER Crider is scheduled for surgery to fix the ASD in October and is expected to be able to play sports again next season.

The mandatory ECG is "a gift from God that has been given to us, truly," Laura Crider said.

"We were able to find this out in a doctor’s office with an explanation and a clear plan that says we can help you, and so many of these other parents who are advocating for these screenings, they had to find out through a tragedy," she continued.

Up to 80% of young athletes who suffer sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) — the leading cause of death during exercise — don’t have any warning symptoms prior to their arrest, Dr.

Jonathan Drezner, MD, director of the University of Washington Medicine Center for Sports Cardiology, told Fox News Digital.

Because intense physical activity places additional stress on the heart, undetected heart conditions can become dangerous during sports, the American Heart Association (AHA) told Fox News Digital.