Danville, Pa.-based Geisinger will launch a sports cardiology program in August, according to Martin Matsumura, MD, the health system's chief of cardiology.
"It will be a clinic that includes representatives from both cardiology as well as sports medicine … and that is really the key… to have expertise from both areas," Dr. Matsumura told WKOK News Radio during a July 6 interview. "We will have it at least once a month and we'll probably have it more frequently as we start having increasing interest from the community."
To launch, the program will be offered at Geisinger branches in northeast Pennsylvania before expanding to the state's central region.
While the program's development has been in the works for awhile, Dr. Matsumura said Geisinger decided to launch it now given the global attention placed on cardiac care after Denmark soccer star Christian Eriksen collapsed on the field from a heart attack during a recent championship game.
A large part of the sports cardiology program will also involve screening and educating the community.
“Screening individuals…high school and college athletes for cardiovascular risk…and probably more importantly, educating both those athletes, parents, and school individuals about the importance of readiness for these kinds of emergencies," Dr. Matsumura told the news station.