Pediatrician Dr. Gwenn weighs in on heart attack risks in team sports.

20 million kids play baseball in the U.S. alone. So when those millions of little league moms heard about 13-year-old Justin McAfee, the Idaho baseball player who collapsed of a heart attack on the field, they were sick with worry. Could this happen to our kids?

As a concerned parent, I went right to one of the country's leading pediatric heart experts for some answers. Dr. Reggie Washington from Sky Ridge Medical Center in Colorado told me three reassuring points about heart health in kids:

• True heart attacks (myocardial infarctions) are extremely rare in children.
• The most common causes of heart attack-like events are not myocardial infarctions, but some muscle issue with the heart.
• The American Heart Association and American Academy of Pediatrics are opposed to routine global screening for heart disease in athletes. Instead, screening is done if a patient has symptoms or if there is a family history of heart disease.

If you're concerned, call your pediatrician to review your family history and be sure your child isn't having any heart symptoms that need further attention. Make sure you update your pediatrician about changes in your family history or your child's symptoms. And learn CPR. Because you never know when you're going to need it.

For more from Dr. Gwenn, click here.