Joseph Collins encourages others to get screened after surviving heart condition
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Joseph Collins was 14 years old and had dreams of earning a college scholarship to play baseball. Those dreams were dashed when he collapsed one day during practice, and learned he was suffering from Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM), KVUE reports.
Collins is now 18, and is lucky to have survived a condition that is often fatal. HCM is the thickening of the heart walls which makes it hard for blood to leave through the aortic valve.
The quick action of one of his coaches performing CPR is what may have helped save him while paramedics arrived on the scene.
"Just out of nowhere, you didn't think it would ever happen, and in just an instant your whole life just changes," he told the news source.
He now has to undergo a heart screening every year for the rest of his life to monitor the organ. He is unable to play baseball, or any other sport that may put strain on his heart, but has now taken up golf, and is perfecting his swing.
Collins encourages other student athletes to get a heart screening performed even if they think they're in good shape, because there are very few symptoms.
The American Heart Association (AHA) says that HCM is an inherited condition, so there is no true way to prevent it from occurring. It is also the most common inherited heart defect.
The AHA estimates that condition occurs in one of 500 individuals. It is also most common among young adults.
The organization provides information regarding the disease and how it is monitored and treated. Most often individuals diagnosed with the condition take drugs known as beta blockers or calcium channel blockers. Depending on the severity of the illness, surgery may be an option.
Collins is now 18, and is lucky to have survived a condition that is often fatal. HCM is the thickening of the heart walls which makes it hard for blood to leave through the aortic valve.
The quick action of one of his coaches performing CPR is what may have helped save him while paramedics arrived on the scene.
"Just out of nowhere, you didn't think it would ever happen, and in just an instant your whole life just changes," he told the news source.
He now has to undergo a heart screening every year for the rest of his life to monitor the organ. He is unable to play baseball, or any other sport that may put strain on his heart, but has now taken up golf, and is perfecting his swing.
Collins encourages other student athletes to get a heart screening performed even if they think they're in good shape, because there are very few symptoms.
The American Heart Association (AHA) says that HCM is an inherited condition, so there is no true way to prevent it from occurring. It is also the most common inherited heart defect.
The AHA estimates that condition occurs in one of 500 individuals. It is also most common among young adults.
The organization provides information regarding the disease and how it is monitored and treated. Most often individuals diagnosed with the condition take drugs known as beta blockers or calcium channel blockers. Depending on the severity of the illness, surgery may be an option.
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