Press Release
Contact: Marcus Owens
THE
Article on
A death spurs a
lifesaving effort Bereaved family of Daniel Rumph
wants equipment at all recreation sites By Ayana
Jones Tribune Staff Writer
As part of his
regular Sunday routine, Daniel Rumph would often head
out to
On
Hypertrophy cardiomyopathy, also known as HCM, happens when the heart
becomes too thick to function properly. HCM, which occurs in one out of 500
people, has caused young athletes who appear healthy to suddenly die during
heavy exercise.
Rumph’s uncle, Marcus Owens,
said it took about 40 minutes for emergency medical help to arrive on the scene
after his nephew collapsed.
“That’s what
pushed us to take this tragedy of ours and try to get something positive out of
it,” Owens said. “The city has been under scrutiny for the last year or more
about the
Rumph’s death spurred his
family to form the Daniel E. Rumph II Foundation.
Owens runs the foundation with his sister Candy, Rumph’s
mother.
The foundation
focuses on providing awareness about HCM and is working to place automated
external defibrillators in recreation centers throughout the city. A
defibrillator is used to give the heart a controlled electric beat, forcing the
heart’s muscles to contract at once and jolt it back to a regular rhythm.
“In our case we
felt like we don’t know if a defibrillator was there and had it gotten to him in a timely manner whether it was going to save him or
not, but we didn’t want another family to have to ask that question,” Owens
said.
“What’s said is
that if you can get a defibrillator on to a person who is in sudden cardiac
arrest within the first two to four minutes, the percentage of getting their
heart rhythm back is about 70 to 80 percent and every minute after that you lose
10 percent.”
The foundation
is waiting for the city’s Department of Health to complete its policies and
procedures so the defibrillators can be placed in centers across the city.
The
defibrillator programs will initially be rolled out to three centers - the Hank
Gathers, Mallery and the Findley recreation centers.
Once the
defibrillators are ready to be placed in the respective centers, the CPR
Network, a group of retired and current
The foundation
has sought the help of corporate sponsors to help it obtain defibrillators.
Health Partners Inc., a Philadelphia-based HMO, was the first corporate partner
to provide funding to purchase one.
Dr. Merleen H. Williams, medical director of quality management
for Health Partners, says it’s important to have defibrillators on hand at
recreation centers.
“It’s a
lifesaving mechanism. It’s important especially since this is a young life that
we are looking at,” she said, noting the sudden death syndrome occurs in about
one percent of those who have HCM. “And typically the young people under age 30
are the ones who have the sudden death from HCM.”
Williams said
it is important that doctors ask their patients about a family history of HCM
because it is an inherited genetic disorder. If a family member has the
disorder, she recommends that other relatives be screened.
Owens, who was
diagnosed with HCM last year, had informed Rumph that
he had the disorder just days before he died.
“Daniel was
a great kid. He was one of those kids who was family oriented,” Owens said.
“God was in his life. He was a smart kid. He was just one of those kids who was
great to be around. He was a quiet kid. He never got into any trouble, he had never fallen into any street life.”
“He basically
did what he was told. He did his school work and played basketball.”
The first
symptom of HCM among many young patients is sudden death that is caused by
severe arrhythmias. Other symptoms include chest pain, fainting - especially
during exercise – dizziness, shortness of breath and
sensation of feeling heart palpitations.
“The definitive
test is the echocardiogram, where they do an ultrasound of your heart and they
are looking at the wall thickness of the ventricle. Typically it’s 12
millimeters, but anything above 15 is considered hypertrophy cardiomyopathy, ” Williams said.
“If you’re at
high risk, then you need to have it done.”
She
stressed that patients who are diagnosed with HCM must avoid all organized
exercise.
The Daniel
E. Rumph II Foundation is strongly advocating for
young athletes to be screened for HCM during their physical exams. The National
Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has not mandated that student athletes
be screened for the condition.
Last month,
The Daniel E. Rumph II Foundation was founded in 2005 to raise awareness and provide screening for Hypertrophy Cardiomyopathy in order to prevent sudden cardiac arrest among young people. To provide automated defibrillators to our community recreational facilities. DER II foundation “Save A Life don’t Take A Life” Program is for teenagers (16 to 19) to receive free CPR/AED training at any local recreation center.
SERVICE, EDUCATE, COMMUNITY
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SERVICE, EDUCATE, COMMUNITY SERVICE, EDUCATE, COMMUNITY
SERVICE, EDUCATE,
COMMUNITY
