Anthony Bates had 25 sports physicals. Not one of them checked his heart. At 20 years old, he died of sudden cardiac arrest after a workout — from a condition that could have been detected with an EKG. His mother Sharon turned that grief into a mission that has now screened over 2 million people and saved more than 100,000 lives.
Dr. Ana Lara sits down with Sharon Bates, CEO and founder of the Anthony Bates Foundation — a nonprofit dedicated to saving young lives through early detection of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), the leading cause of sudden cardiac death in young athletes. Sharon shares the story of her son Anthony, a Division I football player at Kansas State University who collapsed and died at age 20 from an enlarged heart three times the normal size — a condition that produces no symptoms in many cases until it is too late. She walks through what the foundation does, the scale of what they have built, and why 1 in 7 people screened have a detectable heart problem and 1 in 40 have a life-threatening one. They cover the warning signs parents and children should know, what an ABF heart screening includes (12-lead EKG, limited echocardiogram, blood pressure check — in 15 minutes for children, 20 for adults), and what it costs ($35 for children, $135 for adults — made affordable through major corporate sponsors including the Phoenix Suns and Arizona Cardinals). Dr. Lara also announces that Sharon is bringing screenings to Raíces Naturopathic Medical Center, and both women make the case for preventive heart screening as a naturopathic principle: you do not wait for symptoms to investigate what could already be there.
Timestamps
0:00 — Introduction: Dr. Lara welcomes Sharon Bates and the Anthony Bates Foundation
1:57 — Sharon's story: Anthony's sudden death at 20 after 25 sports physicals
4:33 — How HCM presents — and how Anthony's heart was three times its normal size
5:40 — Why routine sports physicals miss HCM: the gap in standard care
6:09 — How Sharon started the foundation and the first screening at Kansas State
8:59 — The ripple effect of a child's death on the entire family
10:15 — 23,000 sudden cardiac arrests in US children per year
10:46 — Warning signs: dizziness, chest pain, palpitations at rest — and why kids don't report them
12:16 — Scale of the foundation: 2 million screened, 100,000 lives saved
14:47 — Anthony's Eagle Scout legacy: leaving the world better than you found it
15:16 — What an ABF heart screening looks like: EKG, echocardiogram, blood pressure
16:01 — 1 in 7 screened have a heart problem; 1 in 40 have a life-threatening one
17:49 — The most common finding: high blood pressure in teenagers
18:47 — Screening cost: $35 for children, $135 for adults — why ABF keeps it affordable
21:28 — Prevention as a naturopathic principle: screening before symptoms appear
23:26 — Save story: Sam, 13, Wolf-Parkinson-White syndrome detected — and corrected
26:46 — Sam's outcome: surgery, high school graduation, college graduation, marriage
27:41 — The shortage problem: 74 million children, only 3,500 pediatric cardiologists
29:03 — Upcoming screenings in Phoenix and at Raíces; how to schedule
31:21 — Sharon's closing message to parents
32:40 — Dr. Lara's closing: share this episode, get your family screened
Sharon M. Bates-Maier
CEO/Founder
Anthony Bates Foundation
(602) 482-5606
www.AnthonyBates.org
www.AnthonyBates.org/appointments
Screening at Raices Naturopathic Medical Center on September 21st, 10:30am-4pm
To schedule visit: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/raices-phoenix-appt-registration
Youth screenings take 10 minutes, and Adult appointments are 20 minutes. Within our schedule, two youth can be done within 30 minutes, or 1 adult in 30 minutes.
Youth screening appointments are $35
Adult screening appointments are $135
To schedule a heart screening at Raíces or find an ABF event near you, visit the Anthony Bates Foundation at anthonybatesfoundation.org — or reach out to Raíces at raicesndmedcenter.com. Screenings are $35 for children and $135 for adults.