Cardiovascular Disease Screening in Primary School Children

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Cardiology
• Public Health Screening
• Preventive Medicine

Background:

• Childhood cardiovascular disease (CVD) screening is crucial for early detection and prevention.
• Limited data exist on the effectiveness of screening tools in unselected pediatric populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the performance of a CVD screening program in primary school children.
• The program utilized medical history, 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG), and phonocardiography.

Main Methods:

• Prospective study involving voluntary participation of primary school children over six years.
• Data collection included standardized questionnaires, physical evaluations, digital phonocardiography (PCG), and 12-lead ECG.
• Phased evaluation involved initial screening, expert verification with decision support algorithms, and pediatric cardiology assessment.

Main Results:

• Out of 944 children, 83.7% had initial referral indications, confirmed in 32.9%.
• Prevalent risk factors included adiposity (10.8%) and hypertension (3.2%).
• Abnormal CVD findings were detected in 7.3% of participants, including structural heart disease and ECG abnormalities, with 0.6% having potentially significant findings like LQT syndrome.

Conclusions:

• School-based CVD screening effectively detects risk factors and general health issues in children.
• Cardiac auscultation and ECG are valuable for identifying structural and arrhythmogenic heart diseases.
• Further research on component performance, interpretation accuracy, and cost-effectiveness is needed for widespread implementation.