Examining children's heart health

Heart attacks are scary enough already. But heart attacks in kids?

That’s terrifying.

Fortunately, there are people like Dr. Brian Stauffer trying to stop them from happening.
What usually causes heart attacks is an overstimulation of the beta-adrenergic system, a fancy name for the same system that kicks up whenever you run or get scared. It’s fight or flight.

But when this system gets too worked up, your heart can’t keep up with it and sputters to a stop.

“We thought it was this same system that [causes heart attacks] in kids,” Stauffer said.

The common treatment for adult heart attack patients is beta blockers, a medication that calms down the beta-adrenergic system. In kids, the story changes.

“In the kids, giving them beta blockers didn’t give them any benefits,” Stauffer said. “It seemed in some kids, especially those with congenital heart problems, it made them worse.”

Recently, Stauffer’s research team was awarded a grant of $189,000 to study the differences between adults and children when it comes to heart attacks.

“Kids are not just little adults,” said Stauffer. “They’re something different.”
 

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