Deaths could be prevented with screening

An Eglish woman has said more should be done by GP’s to warn people of the dangers of sudden cardiac death. 

Bridget McAnallen tragically lost her son Cormac in March 2004 after he died suddenly from a condition known as Long QT Syndrome (LQT).

Mrs McAnallen and her family were attending the launch of heart charity CRY’s (Cardiac Risk in the Young) new campaign, which is calling for greater funding into sudden cardiac death. 

The charity has also claimed a lack of political settlement in the province is severely hampering essential research into the condition, and many of the deaths could be avoided if simple cardiac screening was made available. 

Speaking at the launch of the campaign last Sunday, Mrs McAnallen said: “I had no idea until my son died that this kind of thing happened to young people. 

"The problem is with the health authorities and the Government’s priorities. 

"We usually don’t get a second chance – usually the first attack is fatal.” 

She told the Times: “I am talking about dozens of people dying in the last few years, and I believe the majority could be prevented. 

“There is a lack of information.  There are some cases of people being treated but it is simply not quick enough. 

“These cases are obviously not getting high enough priority. 

“It is quite possible that if people were screened and tested, their heart condition might be discovered. 

“They might have had many symptoms which were dismissed by GP’s. 

“The general attitude is that young people cannot have anything wrong with their hearts, and that is completely untrue.” 

Bridget added that the Cormac McAnallen Trust, founded in the last few months, also aims to promote screening in the same way as CRY does on the mainland. 

The Trust is known for its work in campaigning for the provision of defibrillators in local sports clubs. 

Chief executive of CRY, Alison Cox, compared the health service in Northern Ireland to that in Italy, where all people who engage in sport have regular heart screenings. 

She commented: “We need to keep up the pressure and engage support from as many MP’s as possible to make sure we can prevent other families from experiencing such tragic losses” 

The need for more research is to be highlighted by the charity as they send out postcards bearing the pictures of eight people under the age of 35 who have died from the condition. 

According to CRY, sudden cardiac death claims the lives of eight people per week across Northern Ireland and Britain. 

Many of its victims previously led highly active lifestyles and showed no apparent symptoms or history of bad health. 

Mrs McAnallen’s son Cormac was only just 24 when he died last year.  Only the previous year, he had been a member of the 2003 senior All-Ireland winning team and also named on the GAA football All-Star side. 

Find out more about Long QT syndrome