Why do we need MPs and MSPs to support a National Strategy for the Prevention of Young Sudden Cardiac Death?

UK healthcare policy to prevent young sudden cardiac deaths is informed by a number of guidelines and recommendations. These include:

• Department of Health National Service Framework for Coronary Heart Disease, Chapter 8
• National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Transient loss of consciousness (‘blackouts’) in over 16s
• UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) recommendation on screening to prevent Sudden Cardiac Death in 12 to 39 year olds
• Heart Disease Action Plan 2021 – Scotland only

Current UK policies are contradictory, with current guidelines based on inconsistent assessments of the incidence, methods of diagnosis and management of cardiac conditions in young people.

The UK needs a national strategy to ensure the guidelines and policies to prevent young sudden cardiac death are consistent. The first stage of a national strategy should be to correctly acknowledge the incidence and impact of these deaths.

The latest report from the UK National Screening Committee and a recent letter to the government from the UK Statistics Authority provide clear evidence that the number of young sudden cardiac deaths (age 35 and under) is significantly under-reported.

In 2015, policy advisors considered the risk of young sudden cardiac death “tiny” and said that “the overwhelming majority of heart attacks happen in elderly people