Inspired by the tragic death of an 11-year-old girl who collapsed and died from a rare heart defect during dance class, the 7th grade students in the Civic Engagement Academy Law Studies Class at Bob Graham Education Center presented their Project Citizen project dubbed “Just a Heartbeat Away” and placed first in the Oral Hearing Showcase and finished second in the Portfolio Showcase.
The project was created to raise awareness of heart problems among kids who participate in sports and other physical extracurricular activities following the death of Miami Lakes resident Breanna Vergara, who died in 2014 from pre-excitation Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, a congenital heart defect that is curable when detected with an EKG.
“Just a Heartbeat Away” is a public policy initiative to pass a statewide law requiring all Florida public and private athletic organizations to present parents with an acknowledgment form educating them on the risks of sudden cardiac arrest in minors who play sports and participate in extracurricular activities.