Around 90,000 people die every year from sudden cardiac arrest resulting from a lethally fast heart rhythm, while at least 700,000 people in the UK have experienced a cardiac arrhythmia – the medical term for an irregular heartbeat or abnormal heart rhythm. 

Ex-James Bond star Sir Roger Moore KBE and former England rugby captain Bill Beaumont OBE both suffer from a form of arrhythmia. 

Accurate statistics for sufferers remain elusive because some heart rhythm disorders go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed, according to the Arrhythmia Alliance. 

Cardiac arrhythmias can lead to significant health problems.  They can also lead to psychological distress and greatly diminish the quality of life of sufferers and their families. 

At least 30 per cent of people being treated for epilepsy actually suffer from a cardiovascular cause of blackout, often an arrhythmia that leads to syncope.  This is a transient loss of consciousness (T-LOC) that sometimes resembles a seizure, but is due to loss of blood flow to the brain, not epilepsy. 

Some cardiac arrhythmias result from congenital heart defects that run in families.  Others arise from a variety of diseases that develop in individuals over a period of years.  Others still result from sudden event such as heart attack. 

Cardiac arrhythmias vary widely in type and severity, as do methods for their diagnosis and treatment.  Once diagnosed, however, they can usually be treated effectively with drugs, devices or surgery – or a combination of these. 

Cardiologists are the specialists responsible for diagnosing and treating heart rhythm disorders.  If you suspect you might have an arrhythmia or any heart condition at all, insist on seeing a cardiologist as soon as possible.  Your health, even your life, may depend on it. 

Arrhythmia Awareness Week is held in partnership with the Syncope Trust and Reflex Anoxic Seizures (STARS), SADS (Sudden Adult Death Trust) UK, The Cardiomyopathy Association and British Cardiac Patients Association. 

Sir Roger said: “I experienced a syncopal episode, a form of arrhythmia, when on stage in New York.  I was fortunate to be fitted with a pacemaker that allows me to continue to live life to the full.  Unfortunately in the UK I may not have received this treatment as quickly, if at all.  I certainly support this campaign and feel it is essential for every individual suffering an arrhythmia in the UK to receive as speedy a diagnoses and as effective treatment as I did. 

The Arrhythmia Alliance is a coalition of charities, professional medical groups and industry allies.  These groups work together under the Arrhythmia Alliance umbrella to promote timely and effective diagnosis and treatment of arrhythmias. 

For more information, call the Alliance on 01789 450787 or visit www.aaaw.org.uk

Factfile

Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) was founded in May1995 to raise awareness of sudden cardiac death and sudden death syndrome in young people. 

Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS) is an umbrella term used for the many different causes of cardiac arrest in young people.  CRY provides medical information on the most common causes of unexpected sudden cardiac death, sometimes referred to as SADS, in the young (under 35). 

The charity works with cardiologists and family doctors to promote and protect the cardiac health of the young by establishing good practice and screening facilities devoted to significantly reduce the frequency of young sudden cardiac death throughout the UK. 

It raises awareness of Cardiac Risk in the Young and Sudden Death Syndrome – the charity has set up an All-Party Parliamentary Pressure Group to raise the profile of CRY. 

It provides a national screening programme.  A fully equipped CRY mobile screening van is used to transport machinery for mobile screenings, and the charity hopes to develop ECG Community Testing Programmes, which aim to evaluate over 1,000 clients each year. 

Counsels and supports families affected by sudden cardiac death.