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Brentford Football Club was home to the final leg
of a heart-screening scheme, backed by the parents of a Bees' fan who died
of heart failure aged just 14.
Tom Clabburn died from an undiagnosed heart
condition in October 2007.
Since then his parents have campaigned for greater
awareness of heart abnormalities in the young. The Brentford event was
held in his memory.
The Test My Heart Tour, a collaboration between
the charity CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young) and Phillips Healthcare, has
travelled around 13 venues across the country in the past seven weeks,
giving free screenings to 2,500 young people.
Tom's dad Paul Clabburn said: "We do not want
other families to suffer in the way ours have. We are giving young
people a chance, a chance our generation never had."
Andy Scott, manager of Brentford FC, who suffers
with a heart condition, said: "The response around Brentford has been
amazing, we can't underestimate the impact this has had on the community."
Brentford FC also carry the CRY logo on their away
shirts.
Mr Scott added: "If it gets people asking
questions and gets other young people tested it is an opportunity that can't
be missed."
The event proved so popular CRY had to add two
additional dates to accommodate the demand.
Steven Cox, director of screening for CRY, said:
"We always expected the interest in these events to be strong but we never
expected it to be this strong, the response has been unprecedented."
The road show was aimed at young people aged
between 14 and 35, who take part in regular competitive sports.
Thomas Brunskill, 15, from Brentford, was among
those at the screening.
He said: "My mum saw the notice in the school
newsletter and brought me down here. It's a good thing to do because
if you don't, you never know if you're going to be affected."
Figures show 12 seemingly fit and healthy young
people die from Sudden Death Syndrome every week in the UK alone.
During this national tour, 13 young people have
been identified with heart abnormalities of varying degrees, some
potentially fatal if they are not diagnosed.
A concerned mum from Chiswick, with two active
children, said it was vital for young people to be screened.
Susanne Eames, 47, said: "It's reassuring.
Even though it is only a small step to making sure everything is alright.
It is free, non-painful and available so why not take advantage?"
To find out more, visit testmyheart.org.
"In a specially-adapted, air-conditioned
trailer I quickly completed some preliminary questions and was also weighed
and measured.
One of the charming volunteers showed me to a
room about the size of a dressing room, and I hopped up on the bed for her
to place 12 stickers on my body - two on my ankles, two on each arm and the
rest in various positions on my chest.
The 12 leads were attached, linking me to an
electrocardiogram (ECG), recording the rhythm and electrical activity of my
heart.
Within a minute the pain started. But it
wasn't the ECG - it was the ripping off of the stickers as the test was
already over.
Never before has the phrase "blink and you'll
miss it" been so true.
A short consultation with a doctor revealed a
healthy heartbeat and as long as I don't begin to notice any symptoms I will
not need to have another screening.
It amazed me something so simple could be
potentially life saving."
(our reporter Michelle Burgess was screened at
the Brentford event - and found it a breeze.)

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