Photo caption: Dr. Anthony Rossi provides an ECG to teen basketball player Edgar Martinez of Coral Gables.
“Every three days, sudden cardiac death takes the life of a young U.S. athlete, such as a girl playing soccer, a boy at basketball practice or a high school football player,” said Dr. Anthony Rossi, Medical Director of the Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit at Miami Children's Hospital. “Often these young people die without exhibiting advance signs of a heart problem,” he said. What’s more, a typical school or sports physical examination won’t detect a potentially dangerous heart problem.”
“An ECG can help identify children with heart anomalies so that they can receive the treatment they need for a long and healthy life,” said Dr. Rossi. “No child should die from a preventable cause. Please consider this free screening test as a gift to your family.”
The screenings are available by appointment the hospital’s main campus near Coral Gables, as well as at Miami Children's outpatient centers in Doral, Palmetto Bay, West Kendall and Weston. In addition, the hospital has conducted several community screenings, including events held at the Palmetto Bay YMCA in November, utilizing the hospital’s Health on Wheels mobile health unit.
Anyone wishing to schedule an ECG for their child can do so by calling (305) 662-8301.
About Nicklaus Children's Hospital, Where Your Child Matters Most ™ (2025)
Nicklaus Children's Hospital is South Florida's #1 nonprofit, freestanding specialty licensed hospital exclusively for children. With more than 850 physicians, including over 500 pediatric subspecialists, the hospital and its network of outpatient centers and offices serve close to 70 percent of children in the Miami market. The only "where your child matters most™,” Nicklaus Children's is home to the region's most advanced Kenneth C. Griffin Surgical Tower, and its centers of excellence Helen & Jacob Shaham Cancer & Blood Disorders Institute, the Nicklaus Children’s Orthopedics, Sports Health and Spine Institute, Nicklaus Children’s Brain Institute and Nicklaus Children’s Heart Institute. The Nicklaus Children's Hospital's Transfer Center, Nick4Kids, and LifeFlight are responsible for transporting and saving close to 5,000 lives a year. Our 325-bed hospital, which is renowned for excellence in all aspects of pediatric medicine, has many specialty programs routinely ranked among the best in the nation by U.S. News & World Report since 2008. Nicklaus Children's is also home to the largest pediatric teaching program in the southeastern United States and since 2003 has been designated an American Nursing Credentialing Center (ANCC) Magnet facility, the nursing profession's most prestigious institutional honor. For more information, please visit www.nicklauschildrens.org.