SAN DIEGO — It's been 10 years since Rhina Paredes lost her son Eric who died suddenly at the age of 15. Her personal tragedy made her aware of how many kids have suffered sudden cardiac arrest and she has made it her mission to raise awareness through free life-saving heart screenings.
"He was 15 years old; he was healthy, he was an athlete and [he] collapsed on our kitchen floor and passed away without any signs or any symptoms that I could recognize as life-threatening,” said Rhina Paredes.
Back in 2009, Rhina’s son Eric died after suffering a sudden cardiac arrest at their home. In the years since his death, the San Diego mother found a way to turn her grief from such a devastating loss into something positive by creating the Eric Paredes Save A Life Foundation.
"We have screened over 30,000 kids in the San Diego community and we have found over 200 kids at risk for sudden cardiac arrest,” Rhina said.
From the football field to the basketball court to the soccer field, underlying heart issues have been blamed for countless deaths and is the number one cause of death for young athletes. According to the foundation, 1 in 300 youth have an undetected heart condition that puts them at risk.
In an effort to combat those numbers, Rhina’s foundation held an event Sunday offering free heart screenings for hundreds of kids and adults ages 12 to 25.
"It's good that parents are taking the time to get their kids screened for things they may not know exist,” said Denise Yescas who brought her son Xander for a screening. “I read a lot about Eric's condition and it just kind of happened suddenly for him. He's got a lot of similarities with my son.”
Rhina says she believes raising awareness about the need to check your children's heart health is the first step in stopping a tragedy before it happens.
At Sunday's event, 660 people were screened with seven heart abnormalities found - three of which were serious enough to be at risk for sudden cardiac arrest.