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Alison Cox set up the charity
Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) six years ago to offer advice and support to
bereaved families of sudden death victims.
"Any death of a child is
devastating and it's something you can't recover from," she says.
"But the sudden death of a fit and healthy young person can be even harder
to cope with. Often there is a whispering campaign, with people saying that
the victim must have been into drugs of something - but that is usually not the
case.
"Published scientific research
has shown that one in 500 people carry the gene for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
but it doesn't manifest itself in everybody. Sporty youngsters put more
stress on their heart, so if there is a problem it can cause fatal consequences.
"Ideally I would like every
child to be screened for heart problems when he or she has their BCG
injection."
With permission from the Sunday
Mercury
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