SCA is a sudden Cardiac Arrest, and it can strike without warning.
This year, an estimated 23,000 kids under 18 will experience a sudden cardiac arrest. The number is staggering. But what’s most frightening is this: many of those kids, and their parents, never see it coming.
Why? Because in many cases, sudden cardiac arrest is triggered by hidden heart conditions that don’t show up in everyday life, and often don’t get caught during routine sports physicals.
That’s why this weekend, KPRC2 is partnering with the Cody Stephens Foundation to offer free, in‑depth heart screenings for teens, screenings that can detect the kinds of silent conditions that school-mandated sports exams can miss.
At 5′10″ and 160 pounds, Jacob Scott looks exactly like what you’d expect from a rising high‑school track star.
He’s fast, lightning fast. A multi‑sport athlete at Seven Lakes High School in Katy, Jacob is the kind of competitor who empties the tank every time he steps onto the track.
“It is all out. I put everything onto that track… Every muscle is working hard, everything’s at ten,“ said Jacob Scott
In photos, he’s smiling in uniform. He’s surrounded by family. He’s in motion, doing what he loves.
And yet, while Jacob was chasing finish lines, he was unknowingly living with something deadly.
A hidden heart defect no one knew he had.
A defect so dangerous that doctors later said he likely would have died if his parents hadn’t taken him to a free teen heart screening event put together by The Cody Stephens Foundation and KatyISD.
Jacob’s mother, Karen Scott, remembers watching him run—never once imagining something could be wrong.
“Never in a million years. I had no idea,” said Karen Scott.
And those routine sports exams Jacob had already passed?
They didn’t catch it.
Not one.
“Not a single one,” said Karen Scott
That’s the problem, so many families don’t know it exists until it’s too late.
A Free Test That Changed Everything
In May 2024, Jacob’s parents took him to a teen heart screening event organized by Katy ISD and the Cody Stephens Foundation.
The screening included an electrocardiogram (ECG)—a quick test that reads the heart’s electrical activity.
It’s simple. It’s noninvasive.
And when it’s reviewed by heart specialists, it can reveal dangerous abnormalities that routine sports physicals often miss.
For 13 years, KPRC2 has partnered with the Cody Stephens Foundation to bring these screenings to families across our area. In that time, the foundation has screened more than 120,000 teen athletes and found more than 300 kids with serious hidden heart conditions.
Scott Stephens, founder of the Cody Stephens Foundation, explains the difference:
Standard sports exams catch about 2% of the conditions that can lead to sudden cardiac arrest.
With an ECG screening, that detection rate can rise dramatically—up to 86%.
Jacob’s screening found a hidden defect that was essentially strangling his coronary artery.
Jacob describes what was happening inside his chest:
“Every beat, every time I exerted myself… the more my heart would beat, the more it would choke itself,“ said Jacob Scott
Doctors told Jacob the unthinkable: he could have died at any time.
“Any moment… dead, right there,“ said Jacob Scott
Not only during a race. Not only during practice.
Any moment.
Jacob’s path forward required open‑heart surgery—followed by months of rehab.
It was difficult. It was scary.
But it gave him something far more important than medals or personal records.
It gave him time.
Today, Jacob is back on the track team, running once again—with a heart that’s been repaired and a future that’s still his.
When asked if the screening saved his life, Jacob didn’t hesitate:
“Yes. I wouldn’t be here without it… I wouldn’t have had my life.” — Jacob Scott
And for his mother, the message is now permanent:
“I will forever tell everyone Jacob’s story and how important it is… We are so grateful. Thank you.” — Karen Scott
What Parents Need to Know
The most painful part about teen athletes dying on the athletic field is that many of these underlying conditions are detectable, especially with an ECG reviewed by specialists.
If you have a teen, especially one who plays sports, this is one of those moments where “we should probably” becomes “we can’t afford to.”
A free screening can mean:
- catching a dangerous problem early
- getting treatment before a crisis
- buying your child a lifetime they didn’t even know they were about to lose
Free Teen Heart Screenings This Weekend
This weekend, the Cody Stephens Foundation and KPRC2 are offering a free,10 amin‑depth heart screening.
It will take place at The Lone Star College CyFair EMS Department at 18134 West Road in Cypress from 10 am to 2 pm.
It’s open to everyone ages 11-22, and it’s free.
You can sign your child up for this event right now by going to codystehpensfoundation.org
Click on upcoming heart screenings, then click on book today.
If you can’t sign up online, bring your teen athlete to this event anyway.
If you’ve ever watched your child run, compete, practice, or play and thought, “They’re healthy, nothing could happen,” Jacob’s story is your reminder: sometimes what’s most dangerous is what you can’t see.