Sudden Death Syndrome claims up to eight young victims every week in the UK. New research, to be published in The Lancet, shows that this figure may be a conservative estimate. Sporty youngsters who put stress on their heart are most at risk if they have
an underlying heart problem.
Victims
include the footballer Daniel Yorath, 15, son of the former Leeds star Terry,
who died playing soccer in the garden with his dad, junior international
footballer John Marshall, 16, and international bodybuilder Andy Hornby, 23, who
died during a Mr England contest.
The
main cause of SDS is hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, an abnormal thickening of the
heart muscle which research shows is present in 1 in 500 people, equal to more
than 100,000 people in the UK. The majority of sudden deaths among the young are
due to inherited forms of heart muscle disorder and irregular heartbeat. Some
people have no symptoms and SDS is the first appearance of the condition. Where
symptoms do occur they can include shortness of breath, chest pains,
palpitations, light-headedness and blackouts. Sudden death in people over 30 is
caused predominantly by coronary arterial disease
