Sudden Cardiac Arrest and Lindsay's Law
What is Lindsay's Law?
Lindsay's Law is about Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) in youth athletes. It covers all athletes 19 years or younger who practice for or compete in athletic activities. Activities may be organized by a school or youth sports organization.
Which Youth Athletic Activities are Included in Lindsay's Law?
Athletics at all schools in Ohio (public and non-public)
Any athletic contest or competition sponsored by or associated with a school
All interscholastic athletics, including all practices, interschool practices and scrimmages
All youth sports organizations
All cheerleading and club sports, including noncompetitive cheerleading
What is Sudden Cardiac Arrest?
A Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) is when the heart stops beating suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. This cuts off blood flow to the brain and other vital organs. People with SCA will die if not treated immediately. SCA can be caused by (1) a structural issue with the heart, OR (2) a heart electrical problem which controls the heartbeat, OR (3) a situation such as a person who is hit in the chest or gets a heart infection.
What is a Warning Sign for SCA?
If a family member died suddenly before age 50, or a family member has cardiomyopathy, long OT syndrome, Marfan syndrome or other rhythm problems of the heart.
What Symptoms are a Warning Sign of SCA?
A young athlete may have these things with exercise:
Chest pain/discomfort
Unexplained fainting/near fainting or dizziness
Unexplained tiredness, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
Unusually fast or racing heart beats
What Happens if an Athlete Experiences Syncope or Fainting Before, During or After a Practice, Scrimmage, or Competitive Play?
The coach MUST remove the youth athlete from activity immediately. The youth athlete MUST be seen and cleared by a health care provider before returning to activity. This written clearance must be shared with a school or sports official.
What Happens if an Athlete Experiences Any Other Warning Signs of SCA?
The youth athlete should be seen by a health care professional.
Who Can Evaluate and Clear Youth Activities?
A physician (MD or DO), a certified nurse practitioner, a clinical nurse specialist, certified nurse midwife. For school athletes, a physician's assistant or licensed athletic trainer may also clear a student. That person may refer the youth to another health care provider for further evaluation.
What is Needed for the Youth Athlete to Return to the Activity?
There must be clearance from the health care provider in writing. This must be given to the coach and school or sports official before return to activity.
For parents/guardians and youth athletes:
All youth athletes and their parents/guardians must view the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) video about Sudden Cardiac Arrest, review the ODH SCA handout (information above) and then electronically sign the form below.
Required SCA Informational Handout
For coaches:
If you are a coach for an interscholastic sport and are licensed by the Ohio Department of Education, please visit their website for information about their training requirements around Lindsay’s Law.
If you are a coach in a community program, please use the following resources:
Lindsay's Law Signature Approval
Once you have read the information above and watched the required video, all swimmers, parents and coaches need to fill out the following form indicating they have done so.
Additional Resources
Who is Lindsay?
Senate Bill 252 is named for national heart health advocate and former Miss Ohio Lindsay Davis who suffers from a heart condition and has since dedicated her career to raising awareness of this potentially fatal condition.
"Sudden cardiac arrest is the number one killer of student athletes," said Davis. "At any moment I could have died because coaches and teachers had no idea this was even a possibility for someone who looked as healthy as I did at that age."
Lindsay's Law
Lindsay’s Law, Ohio Revised Code 3313.5310, 3707.58 and 3707.59 went into effect in 2017.
In accordance with this law, the Ohio Department of Health, the Ohio Department of Education, the Ohio High School Athletic Association, the Ohio Chapter of the American College of Cardiology and other stakeholders jointly developed guidelines and other relevant materials to inform and educate students and youth athletes participating in or desiring to participate in an athletic activity, their parents, and their coaches about the nature and warning signs of sudden cardiac arrest.
Frequently Asked Questions
For frequently asked questions and answers, click here.