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The death of a Hampshire
woman has sparked government moves to combat a heart problem that kill 400
apparently healthy young people every year.
Ministers have vowed to
act following the tragic case of Sarah Woodhead, who was just 28 when she
became a victim of Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS)
Her husband Adrian, 36, of
Hythe, has launched a campaign to raise awareness of the condition.
Now public health
minister Melanie Johnson has pledged to set up a high-powered group to
explore ways of preventing people from dying of SDS, which usually strikes
in the prime of life.
Miss Johnson intervened
after New Forest East MP Dr Julian Lewis cited the death of Mrs Woodhead,
who was at home when she suddenly collapsed.
Dr Lewis told the
Commons. ”Sarah was a young women with everything in front of her.
She had no history of ill health and was strongly athletic.”
The MP spoke out during a
debate on the Cardiac Risk in the Young (Screening) Bill, which says
anyone showing symptoms of certain cardiac diseases, or has a family
history of them, should be referred to a specialist.
It also proposes that
relatives of anyone under 35 who has died of the diseases should be
offered screening.
Dr Lewis praised the
campaigning carried out by Mr Woodhead and others who have lost loved ones
as a result of SDS. He added:
“Although the work that has been done is admirable, the Bill is an
essential further step. “We
have to ensure that where tragedy strikes, it is not then unnecessarily
multiplied. There’s no excuse for not screening families when
lightening has already struck.”
SDS is an umbrella term
used to describe the various causes of unexpected cardiac death, which
strikes up to eight people in the UK every week.
Many of the victims are in their teens or early 20s.
Mrs Woodhead died in 1997 and was subsequently found to have a
condition called arrhythmogenic right ventricular Cardiomyopathy, which
disrupts the electrical signals from the brain to the heart.
 Her
husband said: “Sarah appeared to be perfectly fit.
She was a non-smoking, light drinker who took plenty of exercise.
We were at home when she suddenly collapsed after getting up out of
a chair.
“Her death was a bolt
from the blue. There had been
nothing to indicate that she was suffering
from any form of heart condition.”
However, Mrs Woodhead’s
mother and grandfather both died in their early 30s.
The charity Cardiac Risk
in the Young (CRY) says most sudden death involving people under 35 are
caused by hereditary heart muscle disorders and an irregular heart-beat.
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