NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The deaths of four teenage Cross-Country athletes in the last six months in Tennessee are raising red flags in the medical community, particularly among cardiologists.
“It’s concerning — it’s concerning to us as physicians, as parents, as teachers and coaches,” Dr. English Flack told me.
Flack, a pediatric cardiologist at Monroe Carell Junior Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, has made studying the finest details of the human heart her life's work. But she doesn't need any diagnostic tool to spot this troubling trend and to ask questions.
“Number one, seeing what we’ve seen in the state of Tennessee, our question in the last couple of days is… is this unique to us, or is this also being seen at other centers? And in our discussion with other large centers nationwide, as well as others within our state, is that this is not a trend that is being replicated right now.”
As the medical community gathers information and waits on specific causes of death for the four Tennessee runners, what they do know — each young athlete was running when their heart suddenly stopped leading to the question is sudden cardiac arrest to blame?
“It can look like different things when it happens, and on the other side of it, it can be hard to distinguish what the cause was.”
It’s important to note – sudden cardiac arrest is extremely rare in children. According to the latest data from the American Heart Association, of the 350,000 people in the United States who die outside of the hospital each year from sudden cardiac arrest, about 7,000 are children.
Meanwhile, online community forums are beginning to take notice and fill with questions. Dr. Flack knows the COVID-19 virus and vaccine are always part of the conversation.
“I think we should ask every question that we can think of at this moment and we’re not going to discount anything,” said Flack pointing to Vanderbilt’s testing of student-athletes during the COVID pandemic. “We answered a lot of questions that were reassuring to us in that first early period and in the years after COVID. I don’t think that we can just call all of it done because we see in many areas that Covid is leading to things. It’s leading to some viruses that no longer exist. It’s leading to changes in our vaccine patterns and our vaccine protocols as well as just our illness patterns. So, I think it’s important to really consider everything and I’m really glad we have a history of looking into Covid because I think it’s important.”
As we wait for answers, Dr. Flack has a message for parents. Keep your kids moving but take the proper precautions – like a preseason sports physical each year.
“I think that’s important to repeat every year because every year you’re re-asking the question – do we have new family history… does this athlete have a new symptom this year that wasn’t present before," Flack said.
The Tennessee Department of Health released a statement saying the following:
"The Tennessee Department of Health is aware of the sudden and tragic deaths of these four teenagers. The Department reviews these types of matters but does not have any details to release regarding the deaths of these four teenagers."
