The sudden death of a local teenager has resulted in a change coming to every San Diego County school this fall.

Eric Paredes, 15, was a picture of good health. He was a Steele Canyon High School football player, wrestler and leader among his peers.

"That's what every one remembers … his smile," said Eric's father, Hector Paredes.

Eric had planned to follow in his father's footsteps.

"He had a compassionate side. He wanted to get into law enforcement, and I was telling him he was going to be such a great cop," said Hector Paredes.

On July 23, 2009, Eric was home alone. His mother, Rhina, was running errands and his dad dropped by the house to grab lunch during his work day.

"It was about 1:18 in the afternoon when I came in and found my son collapsed on the kitchen floor," said Hector Paredes.

Eric had suffered a sudden cardiac arrest.

Hector Paredes had to call his wife, who is a registered nurse, to the hospital.

"But never thinking that I was going to get to the emergency room where the doctor was waiting for me to tell me that my son couldn't be revived," said Rhina Paredes. "There's nothing that will ever compare to that moment."

It is a moment that comes for thousands of parents every year who never knew their child had a problem.

"In most athletic physicals for pre-participation screening aren't adequate enough," said Dr. John Rogers, a heart specialist at Scripps Green Hospital.

"SCA is often confused with a heart attack and they are two totally different things."

A heart rhythm problem can be detected in an EKG, but that is not included in a yearly exam, something Rogers believed should be changed. He joined the Paredes family's Save A Life Foundation to educate the public.

"Only by increasing the awareness will we increase public knowledge and make people realize that this is a real problem. It's the number one reason we as human beings die," said Rogers.

Studies show 300,000 people a year die from heart-related problems, and Rogers said he wants to see automatic external defibrillators in every school in the county.

If an athlete collapses on the field and is not treated with a defibrillator, the chances of survival are essentially 0 percent, medical experts said. But with an AED, it goes up to 60 percent.

That is why the Paredes family is focused on prevention.

"You don't get another chance with this," said Hector Paredes.

The Save A Life Foundation and a team of 20 doctors and volunteers from Scripps Green Hospital are launching a free program in all San Diego County schools that will offer athletes a questionnaire about family history and whether they've ever fainted, felt dizzy or experienced chest pain during exercise.

Students that indicate possible heart problems will be given a free EKG as part of their health screening.

The program will launch at Steele Canyon High School in Spring Valley this fall.

For more information on the Save A Life Foundation, visit ericparedessavealife.org.