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First free heart
testing tour of England comes Welwyn Garden City
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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Hertfordshire,
UK
– A new national campaign aiming to reduce the number of undiagnosed
heart
conditions reached Welwyn Garden City on the 20th and 21st June 09.
The CRY Philips Test My Heart Tour 09 is the first free
tour of its kind in England, and the screening in Welwyn Garden City was
in memory of local resident Mathew Blease, who died suddenly from a
heart defect, aged just 13 years.
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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.
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Young
people aged 14 - 35 who were interested in having their heart tested attended a
specially built mobile unit on June 20-21, which was situated at
Morrisons supermarket, Welwyn Garden City.
The event was also attended by CRY's
Honorary President Sir Ian Botham and his wife Kathy.
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
old’s hearts, to identify heart conditions which could potentially prove
fatal if left untreated. |
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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.
Alison Cox, CEO, 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. It also allows us to
draw attention to our new regional postcard. We hope that these
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.”
Sir Ian Botham OBE,
Honorary CRY President, said:
“The sudden death of an apparently fit young person is impossible for
surviving families and friends to make sense of. Speaking as a parent
and a grandparent, I am delighted that the issue is being addressed in
this way through this screening tour where young people will be given
the opportunity to be tested so that conditions identified can be
treated. That is why the work that CRY is doing with Philips to bring
about this tour is so important.”
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:
Elizabeth Warburton /
Liam Turner
Fleishman Hillard
0207 395 7095 / 0207
395 7056
elizabeth.warburton@fleishman.com /
liam.turner@fleishman.com
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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