A west Dorset schoolboy who collapsed and died during a rugby match is being featured on a special postcard as part of a national campaign to highlight the need for better cardiac screening. 

Matthew Bailey, who was 14, was playing for Woodroffe School in a match at Colyton a year ago when he suffered heart failure.  An inquest heard that the cause of his tragic, unexpected death, could not be confirmed – but that an undetected heart abnormality was suspected.  It is thought he was a victim of Sudden Arrhythmia Death Syndrome (SADS.) 

Matthew, who lived near Broadwindsor, is one of eight young people thought to have suffered a similar fate, whose pictures appear on a postcard issued by pioneering heart charity Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY).  All of those featured were under 35 and had previously undetected heart conditions. 

The west country has been chosen for the launch of the charity’s hard-hitting 12-month lobbying tour, highlighting the tragic condition known as sudden cardiac death in the young.  Most of the eight victims, who all came from this region, had no apparent symptoms or history of bad health.  Yet it is widely acknowledged that many of the hundreds of sudden deaths which occur every year in the UK could be prevented if simple cardiac screening was made more accessible.  The postcard launch took place yesterday at Cheltenham. 

Alison Cox, founder and chief executive of CRY said: “By showing just some of the faces behind the stories we read and hear about all too often we can help people begin to understand the heartbreak caused by this cruel killer and highlight the fact that it can happen to anyone at any time – usually without warning.  Yet these eight faces – representing the eight lives lost every week in the UK – show just a snapshot of the problem.  We need to keep up the pressure and engage support from as many MPs as possible to make sure we can prevent other families from experiencing such tragic losses.” 

This month thousands of the postcards will be distributed by CRY supporters to people in the west of England urging them to send it back to their local MP.  It is hoped the flurry of postcards will encourage the MPs to add their support to the campaign and join the charity’s All Party Parliamentary Group. 

A new card will be launched every month portraying victims from 12 different regions across the UK.  CRY hope the postcards will maintain the momentum set earlier this year when the Department of Health agreed to add a new chapter to the National Service Framework on coronary heart disease dedicated to sudden death among young people. 

The campaign is backed by a number of former sporting stars and Ian Botham is CRY’s president.