South Wales Evening Post – 15th March 2004
By Chris Davies
A Swansea mum has welcomed news of a new Government task force to tackle cardiac deaths in the young.
Paulette SmithPaulette Smith of Clydach lost her 24-year-old son Christian to an undiagnosed heart problem in 1999. She joined other parents and health campaigners outside Parliament calling for better screening for heart defects in the young.
Now Public Health Minister Melanie Johnson has announced plans for an advisory group to tackle sudden cardiac death in the young and improve services for people with irregular heartbeats.
Mrs Smith said: “The news will be welcomed by families across the country. Even to have selective screening is a step in the right direction… Anything is better than nothing.
“Unfortunately every family will have to have lost someone before they can be screened.
“I would like to see individual screening at a certain age the same as in Italy and the US.”
An estimated 400 apparently healthy young people die each year from sudden adult cardiac death syndrome and a further 700,000 people in the UK suffer from arrhythmia – a disturbance in the heart’s rhythm which can lead to anything from minor health inconvenience to death.
The new advisory group could lead to a new National Service Framework Chapter setting out advice for doctors on standards and models of care for such conditions.
Miss Johnson said: “It is devastating for families when a young, apparently healthy person dies suddenly without warning.
“The majority of people with an underlying condition do not have any symptoms for all or most of their adult life. However, the condition can lead to sudden and unexpected death, often in early adulthood.
“It’s vital that we attempt to understand this condition further.
“The new group that I’m announcing will help both raise awareness and drive future policy.”
Mrs Smith was in London supporting a private member’s Bill calling for screening of people at high risk of sudden cardiac death syndrome.
The Bill has now been dropped with the announcement of the set up of the advisory group.
Labour MP Dari Taylor, who put the bill forward, said: “This announcement will help prevent such deaths and I am delighted that the Government has taken this terrible condition seriously.
