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Waltham High School senior Kens Morantus performs hands-only CPR.
Since Mirella Villanueva, a sophomore at Northeast Metro Tech High School in Wakefield, aspires to be a cardiologist someday, she decided to attend BWH ClimbCorps' high school symposium to learn more about heart health.
"Heart disease is the number one killer in America," Villanueva said. "I want to be a cardiologist so I can talk to people about heart disease and tell them about ways to prevent it."
Villanueva was among 60 students from 11 high schools in the Boston area who took part in ClimbCorps' first-ever high school symposium, held in the Shapiro Porch on Feb. 11. Students learned how to perform hands-only CPR, participated in a heart-pumping kickboxing session and learned about heart disease and nutrition.
Aileen Sauris, NP, of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, was happy to see so many students attend the symposium. She said the goal of the day was to teach participants about heart health so they could go out into their communities as health and wellness ambassadors.
Local high school students break a sweat during ClimbCorps' first-ever high school symposium.
Sauris led the hands-only CPR portion of the day. Using mannequins, students practiced administering this type of CPR, recommended for teenagers and adults, which doesn't require mouth-to-mouth breathing. In the U.S., and in Massachusetts specifically, high schools are not mandated to teach students CPR, but Sauris hopes it will be implemented one day.
A group of Waltham High School seniors said they were looking forward to bringing what they learned back to their peers.
"It's a nice learning experience," said Taylor Scafidi.
ClimbCorps members will soon be visiting the participating schools to educate other students about heart health. Corps members Vinayak Sinha and Ellie Deshaies, who helped organize the event, said they were pleased the students showed a great interest in health and wellness.
"We're happy to see the students enjoy this to the fullest," Deshaies said.