SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Wrestling isn’t for the faint of heart.

Fifteen-year-old Jacob Ott has been wrestling for two years. He said he loves competing no matter the platform.


What You Need To Know

  • 1 in 300 young persons has a heart condition

  • Many heart issues go undiagnosed

  • If one person in the family has a heart issue all should be screened

  • Project Adam works to provide free youth heart screening around the state

“I do like playing the game called ‘Hearts of Iron 4,’ a lot of ‘Minecraft,’” Jacob said. “Those are some really big games.”

Jacob has a new challenge he’s taking on, thanks to his mom insisting he go with her to a free youth heart screening event last year. That event turned out to be life-changing, as doctors found he had a congenital heart malformation — meaning Jacob will need a heart valve replacement at some point and will need to carefully monitor his situation until then. It’s something a fighting-fit Jacob said caught him off-guard.

“I was holding back tears on the spot because I already knew what that meant. I wouldn’t be able to do the sports that I love,” he said.

Jacob’s mother, mother Kristen Kiersey, is a nurse practitioner and said she heard a heart murmur in Jacob when he was young, but says none of his doctors were able to pick it up. Kristen said she’s so thankful they’ve been able to catch the issue early and to have come across the youth heart screening event, which meant Jacob was able to get an in-depth screening that often takes multiple referrals to get.

“We know at 15, rather than at 50,” Kiersey said. “At 50, it’s going to be a lot harder. The damage has already been done. At 15, we can stave it off a little bit and make some changes.”

Rebecca McCormac, who is a manager with the nonprofit group Project Adam organized that free youth heart screening event, along with the UC Davis Medical group. The event last year was a first for the Sacramento area and had 300 young people sign up — a significant number when talking about heart issues in young people.

“We’re screening for heart conditions kids may not know they have,” McCormac said. “And statistically one in 300 young people actually has a heart condition that puts them at risk.”

Jacob was the one out of the 300 at the last screening. Another has been organized for March 12, and Jacob said it’s something worth anyone’s time.

“A lot of people have it, and they don’t know that they have it,” he said. “It’s really common.”

For Jacob, he said he’s still able to ride his bike, rock climb and even wrestle. He’s thankful now that he has the knowledge about his heart to make sure he can keep a healthy, competitive edge.

For more information on the free heart screening click, here. McCormac said if you're not able to get a place at the March screening event, there will be others this year.