ORLANDO, Fla. – Florida will soon become the first state in the nation to require heart screenings for students playing a high school sport for the first time under a new law taking effect July 1.
The law, known as the Second Chance Act, comes after the death of 18-year-old high school football player Chance Gainer, who collapsed during a game in 2024 due to an undetected heart condition.
Ahead of the law taking effect, Orlando Health and the nonprofit organization Who We Play For hosted a media demonstration Wednesday at the Orlando Health Jewett Orthopedic Institute to show how the screenings work and why advocates believe they could save lives.
“This is an electrocardiogram, also called an EKG,” said Stacy Cartechine, heart screening director for Who We Play For. “It’s a very simple, less than five minutes, painless, noninvasive test. And it is truly a lifesaving test.”
Beginning July 1, any student participating in a Florida High School Athletic Association sport for the first time will be required to get the screening before practices, tryouts or games — regardless of grade level.
[RELATED: Check out the full list of new Florida laws approved this year]
“Maybe a junior decides to play lacrosse for the first time,” Cartechine said. “He or she is going to need a screening.”
During the demonstration, Cartechine placed several stickers on a participant’s chest, connected wires to the EKG machine and completed the screening in just a few minutes.
“The wires look kind of scary, but they’re not,” she said during the demonstration.
According to organizers, all screenings are reviewed by pediatric cardiologists trained to identify potentially dangerous heart rhythm abnormalities in children and teens.
“All of our tests are read by a pediatric cardiologist,” Cartechine said. “They are experts in kids’ heart rhythms so they can find out if there’s anything potentially dangerous happening.”
The event also featured emotional stories from people personally impacted by sudden cardiac arrest.
Riley Broadhurst, a survivor of sudden cardiac arrest and former competitive athlete, said he collapsed while out on a run at 17 years old.
“One random day, I was going on a run and collapsed, suffering cardiac arrest,” Broadhurst said. “This is when I was 17 years old.”
Broadhurst said he believes the new law could help prevent similar emergencies for other students.
“If this new law was in place back when I was in high school, I would have been required to take that EKG, and this could have been prevented,” he said.
Martha Lopez-Anderson, executive director of Parent Heart Watch, shared the story of losing her son Sean to sudden cardiac arrest caused by an undetected heart condition.
“Four and a half months later, we learned that Sean’s cardiac arrest was caused due to an undetected heart condition that could have been picked up by an EKG,” Lopez-Anderson said.
She said many parents assume their child is healthy because they show no symptoms.
“Parents may think, ‘Well, my child is healthy.’ My son looked healthy too, and he’s gone,” Lopez-Anderson said.
Advocates say the law is an important first step but hope screenings eventually expand beyond student athletes.
“The next step is to go beyond athletes,” Broadhurst said. “This law is obviously for the high school athletes, but anybody can have a sudden cardiac arrest.”
Upcoming Central Florida heart screening events
Orlando Health Orthopedic Institute Downtown Complex Community Heart Screening
- Date: May 9, 2026
- Time: 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.
- Location: 60 Columbia St., Orlando
- Organizer: Who We Play For
- Cost: $20
- Financial assistance is available through the State of Florida heart screening grant program.
Orlando Health Horizon West Community Heart Screening
- Date: May 16, 2026
- Time: 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.
- Location: 17000 Porter Rd., Winter Garden
- Organizer: Who We Play For
- Cost: $20
- Financial assistance is available through the State of Florida heart screening grant program.
Orlando Health Jewett Orthopedic Institute Alafaya/Waterford Lakes Community Heart Screening
- Date: May 19, 2026
- Time: 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
- Location: 1900 N. Alafaya Trail, Suite 900, Orlando
- Organizer: Who We Play For
- Cost: $20
- Financial assistance is available through the State of Florida heart screening grant program.