Philips' Save an Athlete campaign provides simple tests to find cardiac conditions in student athletes

One of the nation's largest student athlete testing events, which promotes free sports physicals with cardiac testing to help uncover heart conditions in high school athletes, serves as a model for other communities

Andover, Mass., USA - Royal Philips Electronics today announced its continued support of Team of Physicians for Students (TOPS) annual sports physicals event in Phoenix, Arizona to help uncover heart conditions that may lead to sudden cardiac death (SCD). Philips' Save an Athlete program aims to improve health and wellness by educating student athletes, their families, doctors, athletic directors and coaches about preventing sudden death through early cardiac testing.

Each year, SCD affects approximately 5,000-7,000 young people in the United States.¹ SCD in student athletes is sometimes caused by congenital cardiovascular conditions, such as Long QT Syndrome or Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM), which can be identified using easy but sophisticated diagnostic tests, like an electrocardiogram (ECG) or echocardiogram (echo or cardiac ultrasound). Preventative cardiac testing helps detect these types of conditions. Most athletes, their friends and family are unaware of these conditions unless SCD strikes. According to the Cleveland Clinic, HCM is a condition that causes excessive thickening of the heart muscle and affects as many as 1.5 million Americans, making it the most common cause of SCD in people under age 30.² In fact, an ECG exam can help detect heart conditions that account for up to 60 percent of SCDs in young athletes. ³

"Too many student athletes are dying from cardiac conditions that are detectable and treatable," said Paul Steingard, D.O., and founder of TOPS. "TOPS is thrilled to join forces once again with Philips to help reduce the risk of sudden death in young athletes and to raise awareness around this significant and sometimes overlooked issue."

A leader in the diagnostic health market, Philips started the Save an Athlete campaign in 2006 to help support testing programs across the country, such as the TOPS event. Unlike most sports physicals, TOPS events are free, include a family health history review and non-invasive cardiac testing which utilizes ECGs and a echo exam, an ultrasound of the heart.

Last year's TOPS event conducted cardiac testing on over 2,500 student athletes, identifying 385 students that required follow-up examinations. From those, 114 students were not cleared to participate in sports due to potentially fatal heart conditions first detected by abnormal ECGs and echo exams.

"The use of cardiac testing with ECG and echo exams in sports physicals can help identify heart conditions that could trigger sudden death that would not be otherwise identified through an ordinary physical examination or medical history," said William Rappoport, M.D., F.A.C.C., Arizona Heart Institute. "Now in our ninth year since adding cardiac testing, the TOPS event is one of the country's largest sports physicals of its kind and provides athletes, their parents, coaches and physicians with simple and effective health tests that may ultimately help prevent a terrible tragedy."

More than 60 high schools throughout the Phoenix area are expected to participate in the TOPS event on Saturday, April 28, which will include cardiac testing using advanced Philips solutions, such as the PageWriter ElectroCardiographs (ECG) and the iE33 ultrasound system. Philips' HeartStart MRx monitor/defibrillator also will be demonstrated. The innovative HeartStart MRx allows paramedics to quickly acquire and wirelessly transmit a patient's 12-Lead ECG data to the emergency department and/or other hospital locations, helping avoid unnecessary delays in treatment. This wireless capability allows school districts performing cardiac testing the choice of having ECGs read by a cardiologist at each school, or transmitted to a centralized location serving multiple schools.

"As part of our ongoing commitment to the Save an Athlete campaign, Philips is proud to support TOPS' efforts to uncover heart conditions in student athletes that may lead to sudden death," said Michael Miller, senior vice president, Cardiac Care, for Philips Medical Systems. "Philips is pleased to offer its best-in-class cardiology systems for this crucial cause. It is our hope that other communities and athletic ogranizations will adopt TOPS' successful model and provide sports physicals with cardiac testing to their young athletes."

In addition, this year's event will feature an informative seminar on how communities can work together to stage their own free sports physicals with cardiac testing event. The seminar will include a hosted tour of the TOPS event and an overview of how it is organized. The seminar will also be attended by executives from the national office of the National Football Foundation, an organization promoting and developing the power of amateur football through the qualities of leadership, sportsmanship, competitive zeal and the drive for academic excellence in America's youth. The organization strives to make athletics better for kids, while empowering kids through athletics.

About TOPS (Team of Physicians for Students)
Based in Phoenix, Arizona, TOPS works to promote the well being of high school and college student athletes by providing sports physicals with cardiac testing, free of charge, to all students participating in interscholastic athletics or associated activities. Dr. Paul Steingard, Dr. William Rappoport and a group of dedicated volunteers recognize that including cardiac testing with sports physicals could help identify students at risk for sudden death. Since 2002 (check date), TOPS has provided sports physicals with cardiac testing to approximatley 7,500 Phoenix-area student athletes in over 80 local high schools.

About Royal Philips Electronics
Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI) is a global leader in healthcare, lifestyle and technology, delivering products, services and solutions through the brand promise of "sense and simplicity." Headquartered in the Netherlands, Philips employs approximately 121,700 employees in more than 60 countries worldwide. With sales of USD 34 billion (EUR 27 billion) in 2006, the company is a market leader in medical diagnostic imaging and patient monitoring systems, energy efficient lighting solutions, personal care and home appliances, as well as consumer electronics. News from Philips is located at www.philips.com/newscenter.

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Philips Medical Systems
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Philips Medical Systems
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Jan Jacobson
JB Communications
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