A Stanford University Medical Center cardiologist spoke to seniors at class meeting today along with Hudson Ling ’15, who founded a non-profit organization last year to raise awareness about heart disease.

Ling is the president of Cardiac Kids, created in memory of his father, who died from the disease in 2004. The organization aims to raise awareness about cardiovascular disease and is partnered with Stanford University and the American Heart Association.

Ling and Dr. Alan Yeung discussed the deadliness of heart disease and the ways it can be detected and prevented.  Yeung addressed six “risk factors,” which account for 90 percent of all heart problems and include smoking and high blood pressure.

At the end of the presentation, Ling encouraged students to show their parents the Stanford University Medical Center test, found on cardiac-kids.com, that evaluates risk of future heart problems.

“Becoming an integral part of Cardiac Kids has changed my life,” Ling said. “It has allowed me to take action in memory of my father and friend, Justin Carr ’14, while acquiring more interest in the field of public health.”

Cameron Kao ’15 and Andrew Fischmann ’15 also discussed their program, the Delete Blood Cancer Committee, which hopes to add many 18-year-old students to the blood cancer database where they could potentially be matched to those in need of a bone marrow transplant.