Cardiac Risk in the Young need to purchase a screening trailer to enable the charity to screen young hearts throughout the UK and prevent more cases of Young Sudden Cardiac Death
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CRY works to protect the cardiac health of young people throughout the UK. It is the only organisation that focuses on Sudden Death Syndrome in young people. At CRY we aim to save young lives and to help those affected by the sudden cardiac death of a young person. Each week 12 young people in the UK die from Sudden Death Syndrome. 80% of young people who die suddenly have no previous symptoms and the only way to find out if they are at risk is through screening. Screening, using a simple ECG can save the lives of fit and healthy young people who have no idea they are at risk. Once young people are diagnosed they can be offered treatment and support. CRY works to reduce the number of these deaths by operating a national cardiac screening programme. The CRY mobile screening unit enables young people to be screened throughout the UK in their schools, sports clubs and communities. This programme currently uses the CRY minibuses to carry the screening equipment to various locations and to set up in a chosen building where permission has to be given and can often be logistically difficult. The idea of having a screening trailer would be to remove these issues by being self sufficient with a ready prepared clinic on board the trailer. This would enable CRY to provide a more comprehensive service that could reach more locations. The idea has already been tested on the 2009 Philips Test My Heart Tour (www.testmyheart.org) where a borrowed unit from Philips helped CRY to go on a tour of the country offering screening. Over a 12 week period 2,000 young people were screened. 8.8% of all those who had an ECG required a supplementary ultrasound test. Potentially fatal heart conditions were found in four young people, including two cases of Brugada, a Cardiomyopathy and a WPW. Other important conditions requiring surgery or lifestyle modifications were found in a further nine people. In all, nine different types of heart condition were identified. The costs of our screening programmes are kept to a minimum as leading cardiologists volunteer their time to carry out screenings for us and much of our equipment has been donated. However, it is an expensive process, and the costs of setting up our clinics are a major part of this. The Philips trailer saved a lot of the costs of setting up the event by being ready for each event. CRY would very much appreciate any donations towards this ambitious project that will help expand the successful screening programme to offer more screenings and ultimately save more lives.