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My
son was screened at the age of 14. Are his tests conclusive?
If his tests were pre-puberty they were inconclusive. If he has symptoms
that are still alarming you, the recommendation would be to have him screened
again, once he has gone through puberty.
Where there has been a diagnosis of a potentially genetic cardiac
condition in the family or if there has been a young (under 35) sudden cardiac
death in the family it is strongly recommended that screening should be done on
a regular basis until your son has finished growing. In other words, until he is
in his early 20’s.
Keep a record of incidents that you feel are
abnormal over the next few weeks. If your GP will not refer her to a hospital
for an ECG and ECHO (particularly in response to fainting attacks) contact our
screening administrator at St. George's, Jan Smith, and she will notify you
whether there is any opportunity to register for a CRY screening place in your
area. If you are unable to make any headway and are still worried please contact
Alison Cox at the CRY office.
I
just heard from my brother that his 15 year old son died suddenly of Sudden
Death Syndrome. I have two children aged 15 and 17. Should they be screened? My
GP is very sympathetic and helpful but is not quite sure what can be done to
help us?
If there has been a young sudden death of a
close relative we strongly recommend that the family is screened to eliminate
the possibility of any further problems. Screening means having an ECG and an
ECHO.
We recommend that all athletes in intensive
training should have an ECG, ECHO and Exercise test. This will clarify whether
or not you have any cardiac abnormality that will require attention.
My
daughter is 18 weeks pregnant and concerned by recent information given to her
by her mother-in-law who lost a child through a heart complaint in the 1960's. She
seems to remember that part of the name of the complaint was 'fluctuation' and
that the heart was getting too much oxygen.
We would suggest that your daughter's
mother in law gets fully tested (ECG and ECHO) to see if there is any evidence
of a genetic condition and she would then have the opportunity of consulting
with the cardiologist and perhaps getting some answers to the questions she must
have.
ARVC is potentially genetic and all first
degree relatives should be screened after a diagnosis. Pre pubertal screening is
inconclusive but if there is a condition diagnosed in the family any young
person at risk should be screened (possibly annually) until full growth at approximately
20 years of age.
Copyright © 1998 CRY. All rights reserved.
Revised: April 26, 2007
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