Deadline, 23rd May 2019
Eighty-six students at Edinburgh Napier University were screened at the University’s Sighthill campus on Sunday 19th of May. The heart screening event was organised by Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) and carried out by specialists onsite. There, students received electrocardiogram tests and had a doctor examine the results. If more information was needed, a further echocardiogram test was performed to measure the heart’s size, structure and blood flow.
The event was funded by The Robert Worboys Memorial Fund which was created in memory of Rob Worboys, a coach for the university’s American Football team, who passed away suddenly in his sleep at just 27 due to an undiagnosed cardiac condition. After his passing, his family created the memorial fund in order to support CRY’s cardiac screening programme for young people aged 14 – 35.
“Rob was born in Surrey and grew up in Bedfordshire, but he became a hugely popular figure in the sporting life of our university,” said Pete Laird, head coach of Edinburgh Napier Knights and the university’s programme leader for sport, exercise and health science. “He was very popular with the players, in part because he was such a young man himself, and his positive energy and boundless enthusiasm meant the players would have run through brick walls for him.”
“His sudden death was felt by everyone on the team. The reality of Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome is that absolutely anyone can be at risk without even knowing it,” he continued. “If we can save one life from conducting these tests, it will have been an extremely worthwhile day.” Read More