A recent story about a 17-year-old Boy Scout who died suddenly during a 7.7-mile hike in Florida has everyone wondering what went wrong. Every time I see a story like this, where an unexplained death occurs in a young person – especially an otherwise healthy teenage athlete – it makes me wonder whether it’s a good idea to have in-depth annual physicals performed on adolescents contemplating participating in high-endurance sports.

Most children get an annual physical as required by state law to attend school or play sports. I have three children, and for the most part, their physicals constitute a review of systems, blood pressure, weight and height documentation, vital signs and maintenance of vaccination schedules.

So the question is: Should adolescents have more in-depth assessments done to evaluate the status of their cardiovascular health?

This of course is a controversial question to ask because doctors can’t seem to agree on what tests should be done. And with the swelling numbers of uninsured Americans and the escalating costs of preventive medicine not covered by insurers, we’re immediately challenged with the dilemma of who’s going to pay for cardiac testing, and what happens if we do find something wrong?

A perfect example of this is the current criticism of prostate cancer screening. Many studies are now suggesting that these screenings may lead to unnecessary procedures and negative side effects — that ultimately are ineffective in changing the course of the disease.

Now I can understand evaluating the effectiveness of prostate cancer screening versus cost and quality of life issues – especially because of the nature of the disease and the age group that it typically affects.

But when it comes certain heart diseases in the adolescent patient population, we’re not looking at quality of life issues – but often, the difference between a life saved and a life lost.

One condition in particular that I think that teenagers should be screened for, is hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). This is a genetic condition that affects one out of 500 people and is the leading cause of heart-related sudden death in people under 30. And unfortunately, if it goes undetected, most parents only find out about HCM after their child dies on the field or court.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is a condition in which the heart muscle becomes abnormally thick, making it harder for the heart to pump blood and sometimes interfering with its electrical rhythms. HCM tends to run in families, and children of parents with the genetic mutation for the disease have a 50 percent chance of inheriting it.

The reason HCM often goes undiagnosed, is because it rarely presents any noticeable symptoms. And while it can lead to severe cardiac problems at any age, but I would argue that if the condition is identified in the teenage population, proper monitoring could lead to a decrease in sudden, unexpected death among athletes.

Many states are looking into mandatory cardiovascular assessment of young athletes in an effort to identify patients at risk. Still cardiologists are not sure what the best method of screening should be — whether routine electrocardiography or echocardiograms prior to the start of the sports season would provide the most cost-effective, comprehensive data to aid in identifying athletes at risk.

I know that this debate will go on for quite a while, but I think that any parent with a teen or child participating in sports should have a conversation with their pediatrician.

Dawn Drexel, the mother of missing teen Brittanee Drexel, told WHEC News 10 in Rochester, N.Y. that she believes her daughter may have been kidnapped or may not be alive.

Brittanee, 17, has been missing since April 25 when she went to Myrtle Beach, S.C., for spring break.

Brittanee’s mother is no longer a stranger to the darkest possible chapter in a parent’s life story: the feared or actual loss of a child.

I have worked with several parents who have survived their own children. I have struggled with them against tides of grief that seem never to recede, but simply to become more expected, so they lose the power to sweep these bereaved mothers and fathers off their feet.

Losing a child lays bare the miraculous connections that can hold families together through thick and thin. No matter how contentious the relationships mothers and fathers may have with their children, the bond between them can’t be reproduced or entirely obliterated. At the ages of 50 and 60 (and older), my patients still want to make sense of the way they related to their parents in childhood, young adulthood and beyond. They are still sons and daughters, even if they have lost their parents.

So Dawn Drexel, brave enough to speak to the media at an unspeakable moment, may wander tonight into Brittanee’s room. Maybe she’ll lie down on her daughter’s bed, maybe she’ll let herself smell her daughter’s pillow. She may think she hears Brittanee’s footsteps or voice or her car pulling into the driveway. That’s no surprise when we consider the sounds of togetherness that come to play like music in the backgrounds of our daily lives, sounds that we stop hearing after a while, maybe because we take them for granted, maybe because no parent’s heart could maintain its rhythm while bearing full witness to the unspeakable, unfathomable beauty of one’s own child. We don’t hear a tenth of what we could, if we thought the music might end.

For those of you reading these words  — the lucky parents out there with children still close enough to hug, I hope you’ll give it a try tonight. Sit for a few minutes and listen to the sounds of your children in the house: their footsteps, their fingers clicking keys on a computer, the opening and closing of their closet doors, their voices on the phone and their breathing as they sleep. Let yourself marvel at the fact that your life has spawned another life and that you have the continuing, rare and wonderful opportunity to shape not only your existence, but that of another human being. Let yourself smile at the thought of their favorite toys (if they’re still young enough), their favorite clothes, the posters on their walls, their best friends, the sports they’ve come to enjoy, the hopes and dreams they’ve embraced.

Stay silent a minute longer. Then close your eyes, think about Dawn Drexel and her missing daughter Brittanee and pray for them both.

I’m going to do that right now. My children are asleep, a few dozen feet away from me. I am a lucky man and I know it.

Dr. Keith Ablow is a psychiatry correspondent for FOX News Channel and a New York Times bestselling author. His newest book, “Living the Truth: Transform Your Life through the Power of Insight and Honesty” has launched a new self-help movement. Check out Dr. Ablow’s website at livingthetruth.com.

Sexual activity is on the rise among U.S. teens while the use of contraceptives is sliding in the other direction, according to a study released by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention.

Findings from the 2007 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System show that approximately 48 percent of high school teens say they have had sex, representing 2 percent hike since 2005.

The same survey showed a 2 percent drop-off in the percentage of teens who said they used condoms while having sex.

The CDC questioned 14,041 students in grades nine through 12 in 39 states in the spring of 2007 on a range of risky behaviors, including sexual activity, and drug and alcohol use.

Depression, teens and marijuana are a dangerous mix that can lead to dependency, mental illness or suicidal thoughts, according to a White House report being released Friday.

A teen who has been depressed at some point in the past year is more than twice as likely to have used marijuana as teens who have not reported being depressed — 25 percent compared with 12 percent, said the report by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.

Click here to read the full report

A teen whose right hand was partially severed during a tug-of-war at a high school pep rally is playing the flute again and doing better than doctors expected, six months after the accident.

Henry Barrett and Mitch Helfer both had their right hands partially severed in the tug-of-war in October.