Students at IDEA Harvey E. Najim learn about their heart health and track their progress with the monitors they wear on their wrists.
SAN ANTONIO — February is National Heart Month. When we think of heart health, adults typically come to mind but one local school is using technology to help students exercise their muscles and their minds.
P.E. coaches at IDEA Harvey E. Najim are using heart monitors to educate and empower students when it comes to learning about their physical health.
“You get to move around and stuff,” said ninth-grader Nayellie Sanchez. “After our workouts, we have some free time with our friends and it’s fun.”
She says the heart rate monitors are a big plus in gym class. “It really helps you keep track of your numbers,” said Sanchez.
“The heart rate monitors are used to collect data for our scholars while they are in P.E. So we collect the data to show them how their heart rate works,” explained Athletic Coordinator Arron Cochran. “So their heart rate can go from a resting heart rate, to a moderate heart rate, to a vigorous heart rate. So we want them to understand that.”
The American Heart Association says heart problems are quite common in children, affecting one-in-100 kids every year nationwide. That is about 40,000 children that are born every year with some type of heart defect. And as of the latest statistics in 2015, over 7,000 children younger than 18 years of age experienced an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.
Tracking the health of their heart is just another advantage of incorporating tech into gym class.
Nancy Cardenas, another one of the school’s athletic coaches told KENS 5, “By the time they dress up, warm up and stretch, they already know that they’re supposed to be checking their watches. Making sure they’re on the right color, making sure that they’re not on a resting heart rate.”
The P.E. coaches’ goal is to give the students the tools and the knowledge they need to keep their bodies healthy, not just now, but throughout their entire lives.