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A Cradley woman whose
brother collapsed and died of an undetected heart condition faces an
anxious wait to see whether she needs surgery to prevent her suffering the
same fate.
When
23-year-old Nicola Davies had a blackout walking her
dog three weeks ago she knew it was a warning sign that her heart
condition could also become fatal. Five
years ago she was diagnosed with Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular
Cardiomyopathy (ARVC)-a rare condition where fatty tissue replaces heart
muscle and stops the heart beating properly.
It was
only because her 16-year-old brother Paul had died from the disease a few
months previously that her mother demanded she was screened for the
disease.
Medication
did not work and she is now waiting to hear whether she needs surgery to
have an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) fitted.
The
device is implanted in the chest to monitor and correct rapid heartbeats.
It sends small electrical charges to the heart to “reset” it
when it goes too fast or if it begins quivering instead of beating.
Her
mother Benita is now urging people to write to their MPs, asking them to
back the Cardiac Risk in the Young (Screening) Bill.
If the
Bill - due to have its second reading in the Commons on March 12th
- is passed, it will mean mandatory screening for children considered to
be at high risk.
Mrs
Davies lost her son, a car maintenance student at Dudley College, in
January 1999 after he fell off his bike at Earls High School in Halesowen
and had a heart attack.
She
said: “The disease is hereditary. At
least screening has saved my daughter’s life-her heart can just stop
like that. People have got to
support the Bill because we don’t know how many people die every year of
similar heart diseases.”
She
is a member of CRY a charity raising awareness of Cardiac Risk in the
Young and offering support to those who suffer a loss through a network of
affected families and counselling.
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