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Britain's first clinic
dedicated to spotting hidden heart problems in young people has opened in
Essex.
The new electrocardiogram
clinic at Colchester General Hospital is dedicated to the memory of
Frinton youngster Andy Gard, who died aged 17 in 1997 from an undetected
heart defect.
Apprentice footballers
from Colchester United were among the first to be screened at the official
opening on Saturday of the facility, set up jointly by Essex Rivers
Healthcare NHS Trust and the charity Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY).
The driving force behind
the project was Mr Gard’s mother Caroline, a CRY volunteer who has
raised thousands of pounds for ECG equipment.
Between four and eight
healthy people aged 14 to 35 die every week in Britain from Sudden Cardiac
Death. But Mrs Gard said problems could be diagnosed and dealt with
if more people followed the youth team footballers’ example by booking
in for a scan at the bi-monthly clinic.
Mrs
Gard can be contacted on 01255 673598 or visit CRY’s website at: www.c-r-y.org.uk.
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