INTERACT

Marfan Syndrome Scenario

Coach says you have a shot at the NBA - if you get showcased in a good college program. With four other kids in your family, money is tight, but you've been offered a full athletic scholarship to Carolina, a school with one of the top basketball teams in the nation. Looks like you got game....

Except that Nina, your girlfriend, just read an article about a kind of "syndrome" - Marfan syndrome - that affects connective tissue and can also give you major heart problems. She thinks you've got it just because you're nearsighted and have long arms. Ninety percent of people with Marfan have heart problems, and Nina wants you to get tested to see if you're OK. You think she's being paranoid: basketball players are supposed to have long arms, and anyway, if you were really sick, you'd know it.

Besides, if you do have heart problems, no college program in the country will touch you. The doctors will tell you to stop playing altogether, because tough workouts could make the problem worse, or even kill you. But basketball is what you love. It's what you're good at. And it's your ticket to college.

Should you get tested?

Yes, get tested.

No, she's just worrying.