100 Pupils get heart scans through a grieving sister

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Amy Adair-McCourt, from Jordanstown, lost her brother, Nicky (Nick) Adair in March 2020, and since then she has been passionate about letting as many people across Northern Ireland as possible know about the hidden dangers of SADS.

The scans will take place during Heart Month, explained Amy, “Losing my brother to SADS has been devastating for everyone who loved him.

“He was thirty-eight when he died, he was married and had a 1-year-old daughter with another baby on the way. That type of loss is almost unimaginable.

“His death could have been prevented with a simple scan and I am so overjoyed to be providing that for these pupils during Heart Month.

“I’m determined to inform as many people as I can about the syndrome and about the simple, non-intrusive scan which can reveal whether someone is likely to be affected.”

Amy is on the board of governors at her brother’s former school, Belfast High.

Amy added: “I wanted something positive to come out of our unimaginably sad loss, so my husband, Tom, and friend Catherine took on the Mourne 7/7s, and we raised over £9k.

“We are using some of that money to get 100 kids scanned at Nicky’s former school.”

Following Nicky’s death, Amy received support from a charity called Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY), she explained: “The team at CRY have been amazing, they offer counselling and have a great sibling support group which has been such a comfort to me.

” Through the online group, I found out more about CRY and that they offer screenings to help address young sudden cardiac deaths.”