|
Young Teessiders whose lives were tragically cut short are forming a key part
of a national campaign.
Charity Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) yesterday unveiled its latest bid to
raise awareness of undetected heart conditions.
The postcard, unveiled at Redcar Cricket Club, features eight North-east
people aged under 35, including three from Teesside, who died from previously
undetected heart conditions.
CRY wants the postcards to be sent to MP’s to keep up the pressure for better
screening and to raise awareness.
Among the victims featured is Ian Bowen, of Redcar, who died in 1996 aged 19
from Wolffe-Parkinson-White Syndrome – an extra electrical connection in the
heart.
.jpg) Since
then his parents, Maralyn and Kenny, have devoted much of their lives to CRY
and have organised four cardiac screening sessions in Redcar, with the latest
due tomorrow.
Margo Wright from Thorntree, whose daughter Mandi Blake, 32, died of Sudden
Adult Death Syndrome in November 2001, and Julie Hatton, whose son Leon
Manners died in 1999, aged four, are also allowing their loved ones to be
featured on the card.
Family members of all eight victims attended yesterday’s launch.
Maralyn said: “When I first saw the card it was gut-wrenching to think these
lives had been so tragically lost, but I think it will have a big impact.”
A card is being launched every month by CRY, portraying victims from 12
different regions across the UK.
Chief executive, Alison Cox, said: “These eight faces, representing the eight
lives lost a week in the UK, show just a snapshot of the problem.”
About 2,000 of the Thorn Electric-sponsored cards will be distributed by CRY
supporters to people in the North-east, urging them to send it back to their
MP. It is hoped a flurry of postcards will encourage MP’s to support the
campaign.
In March, Stockton South MP Dari Taylor presented a Private Member’s Bill to
Parliament urging automatic NHS heart screening for young people with a high
risk of sudden cardiac death syndrome.
She was inspired by friend Levon Morland, a West Rainton 22-year-old who also
features on the postcard.
Sports stars are backing the campaign, including CRY president Ian Botham, as
many sudden cardiac deaths in the young occur during physical activity.
For copies of the postcard, call 01642 478575.
Fact File
Each week, up to
eight apparently healthy young people die in the UK from undiagnosed heart
conditions.
CRY was founded in May 1995 to raise awareness of Sudden
Cardiac Death and Sudden Death Syndrome (SADS) – the umbrella term for the
different causes of cardiac arrest in young people.
Conditions include thickening or abnormal structure of the
heart muscle and irregular electrical impulses that upset the heart’s
natural rhythm.
The charity offers support through a network of affected
families and counselling. It also promotes heart screening, ECG testings
and contributes to medical research.
It is estimated 80% of all non-traumatic
sudden deaths in young competitive athletes are due to inherited/congenital
heart abnormalities.
|
.jpg)
Plea
right from the heart