Letter to SASC and HASC
We sent a letter of support for Sec. 528 of the House-passed NDAA to the leadership of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) and the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) in September. The two committees are working on the final wording of the NDAA, resolving differences before it goes to President Biden for his signature toward the end of the year. Section 528 would establish a pilot program to provide electrocardiograms to individuals entering military service. This letter was endorsed by the Lion Heart Heroes Foundation, other Gold Star family members, survivors, and organizations dedicated to addressing Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA). It was opposed by the White House, however, in their Statement of Administration Policy (see page 6). Thank you to all who called and wrote expressing dismay. We'll find out the results of our campaign soon!
URGENT CALL FOR ACTION!
The NDAA pilot program for EKG screening of military recruits is in jeopardy! The White House Administration is pushing back against the pilot program for screening military recruits with electrocardiograms!
We worked hard to get electrocardiograms (EKGs) added to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2024 (H.R. 2670). It was passed by the House Armed Services Committee and became Section 528 of the NDAA.
Here's how you can help!
We worked hard to get electrocardiograms (EKGs) added to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2024 (H.R. 2670). It was passed by the House Armed Services Committee and became Section 528 of the NDAA.
Here's how you can help!
- Call the White House at 202-456-1111 between 11am-3pm EST Tuesday through Thursday.
- Write them at their contact form, found at https://www.whitehouse.gov/get-involved/write-or-call/, to express your concerns.
- Please share with your friends and colleagues, and ask them to help too!
- For talking points and more information, click here.
Years of Advocacy Beginning to Pay Off!
| ndaa_section_528_cardiac_screening_07202023.pdf |
The approved House version of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 (NDAA FY24) includes a small section from the House Subcommittee on Military Personnel, Section 528: PILOT PROGRAM ON CARDIAC SCREENINGS FOR MILITARY ACCESSIONS!
The description reads, "This section would require the Secretary of Defense to establish a pilot program to provide mandatory electrocardiograms to individuals entering military service in connection with the military accession screening process." Please see the attached document for the rest of the bill language.
This is not law yet! The NDAA was approved by the full House on June 21, but still must be reconciled with the Senate's version before being signed into law by President Biden toward the end of the year. We have been working for many years to get the military to add ECGs to the medical screening protocols at MEPS. ECGs can find over 85% of the conditions that can lead to Sudden Cardiac Death but were dropped from the medical protocols in 2002. This is a huge victory. Detailing the steps it took to get here would fill a book.
The description reads, "This section would require the Secretary of Defense to establish a pilot program to provide mandatory electrocardiograms to individuals entering military service in connection with the military accession screening process." Please see the attached document for the rest of the bill language.
This is not law yet! The NDAA was approved by the full House on June 21, but still must be reconciled with the Senate's version before being signed into law by President Biden toward the end of the year. We have been working for many years to get the military to add ECGs to the medical screening protocols at MEPS. ECGs can find over 85% of the conditions that can lead to Sudden Cardiac Death but were dropped from the medical protocols in 2002. This is a huge victory. Detailing the steps it took to get here would fill a book.
Productive Trip to Washington DC, June 2023
The 3rd Annual National CPR and AED Awareness Rally gave us a good reason to head to Washington DC, where we participated in the rally at the Washington Monument and the march to the Capitol. We met with Senate and Congressional staffers to promote our mission of bringing cardiac screening with electrocardiograms (ECGs) to military recruits. We also met our lobbyist, Madison Arcangeli, and had dinner with Dr. Mark Haigney and Dr. Alaric Franzos, the cardiologists we work with from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. It was a productive trip!
Meet the Press NOW features David's Story!
Laurie Finlayson speaks to Courtney Kube in an interview on Meet the Press NOW.
Here is a link to the video: Buffalo Bills Player Damar Hamlin's Cardiac Incident Broadens Calls for Military Cardiac Testing
Lion Heart Heroes Director, Laurie Finlayson, and Uniformed Services University Cardiologist, Dr. Mark Haigney, were interviewed by NBC's Pentagon Correspondent, Courtney Kube. After watching the segment linked above, click here to hear additional commentary by Courtney Kube and NBC Political Analyst Chuck Todd as they discuss the need for cardiac screening in the military, This aired on www.NBCNews.com/Now on February 10, 2023.
Cardiac Screening of JROTC Cadets
Lion Heart Heroes Foundation has an ongoing partnership with the Nick of Time Foundation to screen JROTC cadets in Puget Sound area high schools. Screenings consist of a Heart Health Survey asking about possible signs & symptoms or family history of a heart condition. An EKG is performed that analyzes the electrical signals of the heart and in some cases, a limited physical exam or Echocardiogram of the heart is conducted. The results are reviewed on-site by cardiologists and sports physicians experienced in EKG youth heart screens.
AED DONATIONS
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Honoring a Fallen Shipmate
On Tuesday, May 31, the family of FCA2 Adam Pecaut gathered on the quarterdeck of Naval Station Mayport (Jacksonville, FL) to present an AED (Automated External Defibrillator) to the base in hopes of saving a future life. Two years ago, their son, FCA2 Adam Pecaut, who served on USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116), tragically died during a run on the base beach. “On behalf of the Lion Heart Heroes Foundation we present this AED to Naval Station Mayport in honor of my son,” said Donna Pecaut. 
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Meeting Community Needs
Naval Support Activity Mechanicsburg, a small logistics base in Pennsylvania, needed new battery packs and two more AEDs to serve their Navy families and community adequately. Thanks to your generous donations, the Lion Heart Heroes Foundation was able to meet that need, and here is the thank you letter that we received. Bravo Zulu! 
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Check out this article in
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The April 2022 issue of the Marine Corps Gazette.
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President Biden signs the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2022. It includes expanded Cardiac Screening!
NDAA, Section 733 (pg. 258) PILOT PROGRAM ON CARDIAC SCREENING AT CERTAIN MILITARY SERVICE ACADEMIES expands the cardiac screening that was piloted at the US Naval Academy to other academies: West Point Military Academy and the Air Force Academy. Cardiac screening of 4,095 Midshipmen at the Naval Academy found 87 with abnormal screens. Of these, 19 had cardiac issues that could result in serious cardiac events. Six were cured, 11 will be monitored over time, and two were medically separated.
This comes as a result of our meeting with Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) in November 2020. Lion Heart Heroes worked with the Military Personnel Committee and they wrote markup #733, PILOT PROGRAM ON CARDIAC SCREENING AT CERTAIN MILITARY SERVICE ACADEMIES, which was included in the House version that passed on September 23, 2021. The Senate and the House then worked to reconcile their separate versions of the NDAA. The Senate passed the final version on December 15. Now that the President has signed the NDAA for FY 2022, the military academies will start screening their students with EKGs (see p. 258 in the 910 page pdf). The data they find will be used for our next step: expanding cardiac screening to the Military Entrance Processing Stations (MEPS) in future legislation. It is such a long process, but we're making progress!
This comes as a result of our meeting with Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) in November 2020. Lion Heart Heroes worked with the Military Personnel Committee and they wrote markup #733, PILOT PROGRAM ON CARDIAC SCREENING AT CERTAIN MILITARY SERVICE ACADEMIES, which was included in the House version that passed on September 23, 2021. The Senate and the House then worked to reconcile their separate versions of the NDAA. The Senate passed the final version on December 15. Now that the President has signed the NDAA for FY 2022, the military academies will start screening their students with EKGs (see p. 258 in the 910 page pdf). The data they find will be used for our next step: expanding cardiac screening to the Military Entrance Processing Stations (MEPS) in future legislation. It is such a long process, but we're making progress!
We Were on the Cover of Bonney Lake Neighbors!
John and Laurie Finlayson, founders of The Lion Heart Heroes Foundation, were featured in the November 2021 issue of Bonney Lake Neighbors. The article covers the story of the sudden death of their son, Marine Lance Corporal David Finlayson, the impact on their family, and the work they have done through Lion Heart Heroes. Click on the image to read the article.
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Bonney Lake Neighbors magazine
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Coast Guard Academy Adds ECG Screening!
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The class of 2025 was the first to receive Electrocardiograms (ECG) as part of their seven-week journey toward becoming Coast Guard cadets.
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Check out the article here.
This is an expansion of the screening that is performed each year at the US Naval Academy. |
Gold Star Mothers donate an AED in memory of SN Andrew J. Adams
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When Laurie met Gold Star Mom, Kim Hayes, at a TAPS retreat in Atlanta, we shared our sons' stories. As Kim learned that David died of Sudden Cardiac Arrest, she explained that there was another Gold Star Mom in their Southwest Florida chapter whose son, Andrew, had died the same way.
Fast forward a few years, and Laurie finally met Maricel when traveling to Florida for the Parent Heart Watch Conference in 2020. There, the seed was planted to donate an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) in Andrew's name. It took another year for all the pieces to fall into place. The Gold Star Mothers of Southwest Florida received a significant donation that enabled them to purchase a Cardiac Science G5 Powerheart AED to donate to Venice High School, where Andrew had participated in the JROTC program. ABC-7 Television out of Fort Myers, Florida, covered this story. Here is the updated link. The ceremony took place on February 26, 2021. |
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A new article in Military.com helps spread awareness!
Navy Doctors are Bringing Back This Medical Screening to Prevent Sailors' Sudden Deaths, by Patricia Kime, published 9/20/20. Great exposure about the need for ECG screening and the improvements in ECG technology in the last 18 years, with some personal stories. Let's keep military hearts beating!
THE FIRST MILITARY CARDIAC SCREENING WITH ELECTROCARDIOGRAMS HAS TAKEN PLACE AT THE NAVAL ACADEMY!
A midshipman 4th class, or plebe, from the United States Naval Academy Class of 2024 receives an electrocardiogram. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Dana D. Legg/Released)
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Here's the article from DVIDS:
Naval Health Clinic Annapolis and Uniformed Services University: Partners to Reduce Sudden Cardiac Death. The US Naval Academy recently finished evaluating 1,178 plebes, the entire freshman class, with specialized ECGs used for young athletes. They found 26 (about 2%) who needed further evaulation, and of those, 19 were cleared. Ultimately seven midshipmen were found to have heart conditions that required treatment and follow-up. These fantastic results were presented to our congressman who has assigned his team to work on it. |
Article promoting Cardiac Screening of Military Recruits has been published!
The potential benefits of modern electrocardiogram (ECG) screening for military applicants is described in "Cardiovascular Screening in the U.S. Military: Time to Reconsider the Elecvtrocardiogram" by Charles Magee, MD and Mark C. Haigney, MD. The pdf can be downloaded here.