The Eric Paredes Save a Life Foundation partnered with Madison Middle School to remember Marco Benitez, who died from an undetected heart condition last year.
In December, Madison hosted the foundation's Smart Hearts Don't Miss a Beat presentation to all students to increase health literacy around warning signs, risk factors of sudden cardiac arrest and what to do in a cardiac emergency. The EP Save A Life Foundation also donated an automated external defibrillator to the school in Marco's honor.
More than 23,000 youth are stricken by SCA each year. The EP Save a Life Foundation works to prevent these tragedies by raising awareness of preventive heart care and cardiac emergency preparedness. The foundation has provided more than 35,000 free youth heart screenings, finding 550 with unknown conditions, 256 children had conditions like Marco's."They told me he was healthy and fine. We would never have found his condition with these routine tests," Kristina said.
The EP Save a Life Foundation will host the next free community heart screening in April. For more information on warning signs of SCA or how to register for a free screening, go to epsavealife.org. RELATED: Community mourns loss of 13-year-old North County boy SD family continues to fight for heart screenings for children