"Dawne GardnerDavis almost skipped the free health screening for her son. The weather was rotten an earlier appointment ran long  and yearold Jordan was the picture of health. Jordan Gardner  of Cincinnati works on Aug.  at a Cincinnati Reds game. Doctors advised him to quit competitive athletics. Today the Cincinnati mother of two is thankful she didnt. Doctors diagnosed Jordan with aortic root dilation a potentially lifethreatening heart defect. They advised the teen  who played six sports his favorite being baseball  to quit competitive athletics for good. For decades pediatricians and family physicians have sought a more effective way to identify young athletes at risk of dying while playing the sports they love. Now the Heart Institute at Cincinnati Childrens Hospital Medical Center httpcontent.usatoday.comtopicstopicPlacesGeographyCincinnatiChildrensHospitalMedicalCenter is testing a new method. In the most complete test of its kind the institute is using both an electrocardiogram and limited echocardiogram to see the rhythm and structure of the heart. If proved effective it could become the norm for identifying heart conditions that put one in  people at risk when doing toplevel physical activities researchers say. Since the study began about a year ago  local teens have been screened and  diagnosed with heart abnormalities. Twentytwo can continue in athletics though theyll require lifelong monitoring. Four young athletes two girls and two boys have been advised to quit sports altogether. Researchers hope to screen a total of  before theyre done. So far their work is turning up a higher rate of heart abnormalities than expected. Jordan was one of the more serious cases. That day at his appointment he his mother and little sister Jaelynne sat astonished as doctors described a dangerously large root in Jordans heart. Because of its size it could rupture if stressed by too much physical activity. The effects could kill him. Jordan took his doctors advice and quit the sports he loved. The saddest day for me had to be the day of baseball tryouts Jordan says. I woke up and I couldnt go to tryouts. After that I just started to cope. Precise diagnoses sought Cases of high school athletes collapsing and dying on sports fields most often result from undiagnosed heart defects says Dr. Jeffrey Towbin codirector and head of clinical care at the Heart Institute. Victims often show no earlier symptoms looking the picture of health. Towbin asked two pediatric cardiologists  Dr. Jeff Anderson httpcontent.usatoday.comtopicstopicJeffAnderson and Dr. Michelle Grenier to take on the study that hed wanted to do since joining the Heart Institute  and onehalf years ago. One of our goals is to advance the field  in areas either untouched or unappreciated as being important Towbin says. These cases are obviously each a tragic event that occur in every city a few times a year. As high school sports begin this year the caution takes on increased urgency. Locally swimmer Jose Cerda Navarro became unconscious during practice with his private swim club in October . He died within the hour at the hospital on this th birthday. Cameron Batson  died a few weeks before that while playing a game of pickup soccer. He had graduated that spring from high school in Covington. In the United States a doctor must approve participation in a school or competitive sports league. Approval is generally granted to teens with little to no family history of heart problems and a physical exam devoid of medical red flags. Some years ago Italy instituted a countrywide rule requiring competitive athletes to undergo an electrocardiogram a test that records the electrical activity of the heart. Fewer Italian athletes died after the testing began but the tests also had a relatively high rate of falsely reporting medical problems. That led to unnecessary physical restrictions of athletes. Theres got to be a better way Anderson said. Thats what we set out to answer. Anderson and Grenier now say that adding a limited echocardiogram  a twodimensional image of the heart  can offer a more precise diagnosis. National estimates are that roughly  of people are born with potentially lifethreatening heart defects. But the Childrens Hospital httpcontent.usatoday.comtopicstopicChildrensHospital study is showing more than twice that rate and a higher rate for more minor abnormalities as well perhaps because of better technology Grenier says. I do think theyre real numbers she says of the studys findings so far. Are they normal variations What abnormality is going to contribute to the overall health versus something that just looks funny Thats not entirely known. Grenier and her colleagues at the Heart Institute hope to continue this study  turn it into an ongoing program  so they may one day be able to answer those questions. In the meantime screenings continue. Making tests affordable accessible A key challenge now is making these tests affordable most medical insurance plans wont cover them. Currently an EKG and echocardiogram would cost parents a minimum of  Anderson says. Simons Fund a nonprofit organization donated  to honor Cerda Navarro for screenings. Childrens Hospital paid the rest around  according to Childrens spokesman Jim Feuer. If an ongoing program of testing happens the hospital would try to tap into thirdparty funding donations and grants Towbin says. The hope would be that with data we could get the entire system interested in participating  get funding to run a clinical trial locally and maybe nationally. After Jordans diagnosis his family packed the room to support him for every subsequent appointment. He now takes daily blood pressure medication and is allowed to jog and do other light physical activities. He grew up around athletics so Im sure it was a culture shock for him says his grandfather Lacey Calloway. Whatever he does he knows weve got his back even if its tiddlywinks. Sports teaches discipline GardnerDavis says but her son is finding that in other interests. Jordan plays the drums in a high school concert band is getting into photography and cars  now that hes . And he got a summer job at Great American Ballpark httpcontent.usatoday.comtopicstopicGreatAmericanBallpark. GardnerDavis calls the decision to take him for that screening the best decision of my life and suggests other parents take advantage of the free service. Were so thankful she says. Otherwise wed have no idea and Jordan could be standing here one day and gone the next. For more information about reprints  permissions http visit our FAQs. 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