ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — It’s been six years since Erika Lowe faced the unimaginable tragedy of losing her 13-year-old daughter, Paris Byrd. The sorrow of that loss is still palpable as she recalls the day her daughter, a vibrant eighth-grader at Murray Middle School, collapsed during basketball tryouts. “She was like an angel on earth,” Lowe fondly remembers.
The cause of Paris’s sudden collapse was a life-threatening heart disease known as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a condition that results in the thickening of the heart muscle. This condition led to her suffering a sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) during the tryouts, a moment that Lowe recalls with heart-wrenching detail.
“She went down, and then they got up and they sat over there on the bleachers. And they say she was just laughing. And then all of a sudden she wasn’t, and they thought that she was sleeping,” Lowe said. Despite the emergency response, Paris did not survive, leaving a void in the hearts of her family and community.
The aftermath of Paris’s death has propelled Lowe into advocacy, urging parents to get their children screened for heart conditions. She believes an electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG) might have detected her daughter’s condition and possibly saved her life. “Get it done early, especially if they’re talking about playing sports,” Lowe advises, emphasizing the importance of early detection.
Dr. Jennifer Maynard, a sports medicine specialist at the Mayo Clinic, supports Lowe’s stance, stressing the importance of EKG screenings for detecting conditions that could lead to SCA. “One in 300 youth athletes can have an abnormality that can be detected by ECG,” Dr. Maynard said. “It’s simple. It’s easy. It’s painless.”
In a twist of fate, two of Paris’s brothers were later diagnosed with the same heart condition, highlighting the potential genetic nature of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. They are now under medical supervision, ensuring their condition is monitored.
To further her cause, Lowe is partnering with the nonprofit Who We Play For for a free heart screening event. The event, open to anyone aged 10 to 22, is scheduled for January 8, 2024, at the Flex Field next to EverBank Stadium. This initiative underscores the critical nature of early heart screenings in preventing tragedies like Paris’s.
As Lowe continues to navigate her grief, her message remains clear: early detection through EKG screenings can be life-saving. Her efforts, in memory of Paris, aim to protect other families from experiencing similar heartbreak.