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First free heart
testing tour of England comes to Kent
CRY Philips
Test My Heart Tour 09 aims to reduce number of heart deaths of
apparently fit and healthy young people
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Kent, UK
– A new
national campaign aiming to reduce the number of undiagnosed heart
conditions reached Sidcup, Kent on June 6-7. The CRY Philips
Test My Heart Tour 09 is the first free tour of its kind in
England, and the screening in Sidcup was held in memory of local
resident
Adam Donnelly who
died suddenly from a heart defect, aged just 17.
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More Press Releases
and photos from events on the screening tour |
The CRY Philips Test My Heart Tour 09 has been made
possible by the fundraising efforts of families whose lives have been
affected by young sudden cardiac death; by health and well-being company
Philips; and by the Gwyneth Forrester Trust.
 Young
people aged 14 - 35 who were interested in having their heart tested attended a
specially built mobile unit on June 6-7, which was situated in the car
park of
of Somerfield Supermarket, Westwood Lane, Sidcup.
The mobile unit, donated by Philips, consists of three rooms where
Philips’ ECG and ECHO equipment is used to test people.
Every week, 12 young people lose their lives to sudden cardiac death in
the UK* - this is a statistic that
CRY, Philips and the families hope to reduce. The national tour
aims to test over 3,000 14-35 year
olds' hearts, to identify heart conditions which could potentially prove
fatal if left untreated.
A
staggering 80 per cent of apparently healthy 14-35 year olds who die
from SDS will have shown no previous sign of heart defects until it is
too late. It is widely accepted that heart screening saves lives, and
the CRY Philips Test My Heart Tour 09 is likely to detect
conditions in people that might otherwise have gone unnoticed.
Julie and Jed
Donnelly, from Welling, first became involved with CRY over 4 years ago
following the death of Adam from an undiagnosed heart condition.
 Sporty
teenager, Adam, who studied Sports Science at Greenwich Community
College, was playing volleyball on a family holiday in Cyprus when he
collapsed and died.
His family was shocked and devastated by
the tragedy, especially as Adam showed no signs of being unwell. A keen
footballer who also enjoyed rugby, Adam worked as a lifeguard at Colfe's
Leisure Centre in Lee.
The only symptom he suffered was a brief
dizzy spell about 4 months before his death, which he blamed on standing
up too quickly.
The Donnellys are now passionate about
raising funds for CRY and have raised over £30,000. This money has
contributed to funding a number of screening events in the hope of
preventing other families from suffering as they have.
Julie Donnelly
believes Adam's heart condition would have been picked up if he had been
tested. Subsequent screening of the family has shown that Brugada
syndrome is present – which is the likely cause of Adam’s death.
Mrs Donnelly said: "I would hate
anybody else to go through this. Most heart conditions will be picked up
with an ECG. We are convinced if Adam had been screened, it would have
been picked up beforehand."
Alison Cox, CEO of CRY,
said: “The fundraising work of our CRY families and the
involvement of Philips means that we can provide a free mobile testing
service on this scale for the first time. Aiming to test over 3,000
young people, this is a major step towards our aim of reducing the
number of young sudden cardiac deaths in the UK. We hope that this initiatives will drive
awareness of Sudden Death Syndrome and emphasise the importance of
testing.”
Peter Maskell, Chairman, Philips UK, said:
“With our heritage in healthcare, including ECG and ECHO machines,
Philips is extremely proud to partner with CRY in an initiative aimed at
reducing the number of Sudden Cardiac Deaths. 12 young sudden cardiac
deaths a week is a staggering amount and highlights how much needs to be
done to prevent such tragedies. Our hope is that this mobile unit will
both identify existing conditions in people and raise awareness of the
issue more broadly.”
The screening in Sidcup was part of a national tour of 13 destinations
in England, many of which will host events in memory of a local young
person who lost their life to an undiagnosed cardiac condition.
For
further information about the screening tour go to
www.testmyheart.org
- Ends-
*Figures are based on official statistics [ONS 2006] citing the cause of
sudden death among people aged 35 and under.
For further
information, please contact:
Sally Gray / Jo
Hudson
Trinity Public
Relations
020 8786 3860 / 0770
948 7959
Jo.hudson@trinitypr.co.uk
For further
information about Philips, please contact:
Laura Wilkinson /
Deneice Clark
Philips Electronics
UK
01483 298 677 / 01483
298 517
Laura.j.wilkinson@philips.com /
deneice.clark@philips.com
About Royal Philips Electronics
Royal Philips
Electronics of the Netherlands (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI) is a diversified
Health and Well-being company, focused on improving people’s lives
through timely innovations. As a world leader in healthcare, lifestyle
and lighting, Philips integrates technologies and design into
people-centric solutions, based on fundamental customer insights and the
brand promise of “sense and simplicity”. Headquartered in the
Netherlands, Philips employs approximately 116,000 employees in more
than 60 countries worldwide. With sales of EUR 26 billion in 2008, the
company is a market leader in cardiac care, acute care and home
healthcare, energy efficient lighting solutions and new lighting
applications, as well as lifestyle products for personal well-being and
pleasure with strong leadership positions in flat TV, male shaving and
grooming, portable entertainment and oral healthcare. News from Philips
is located at
www.philips.com/newscenter.
About CRY
Sudden death syndrome
strikes down hundreds of young people – many of whom were involved in
sport – at the prime of their lives. Sport does not cause this problem -
but it can exacerbate an existing undiagnosed condition and the high
risk group is the young. 80% of those that die have had no discernible
symptoms. The only way to identify those young people that are
“asymptomatic” is through screening.
CRY was founded in
May 1995 to raise awareness of Sudden
Arrhythmia Death Syndrome (SADS). As well as campaigning
and lobbying and the provision of its
subsidised
cardiac screening programme for young people (35 and under), the charity
also provides
counselling and support to
bereaved families as well as young individuals who may be diagnosed.
Sudden Cardiac Death
(SCD) is an umbrella term for a number of different heart conditions
that affect fit and healthy people which, if not treated can result in a
dramatic and or / spontaneous death. In about one in 20 cases of sudden
cardiac death, no recognised cause can be found – even after
post-mortem. This is then called Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome (SADS).
Many experts are now claiming that the actual number of deaths recorded
could just be ‘the tip of the iceberg’ with many causes
being wrongly recorded at post mortem as asthma, epilepsy or even
drowning. |
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