News

Every week at least eight ‘apparently fit and healthy’ young people die of undiagnosed heart conditions in the UK.

Sporty youngsters stress their heart the most.  If they have an underlying cardiac abnormality they are more likely to be at risk.  Sport itself does not lead to cardiac arrest but it can act as a trigger for a young person to die suddenly by exacerbating the undetected condition.

CRY provides medical information on the most common causes of unexplained cardiac deaths in the young (under 35) including:

• Cardiomyopathies,
• Myocarditis,
• Coronary Artery Anomalies,
• Ion Channelopathies (LQT / Brugada Syndromes),
• Wolff (Wolfe) Parkinson White Syndrome,
• Endocardial Fibroelastosis
• Tachycardia.

CRY will screen any young physically active individual aged between 14 and 35.

The testing of the Northern Ireland U19 girls and U17 boys was funded by the Irish FA with the money from the fines paid by players following an incident after Northern Ireland’s Euro 2008 qualifier in Iceland last September.

The Chief Executive, Howard Wells and the Association’s Executive Committee granted the IFA’s Child Welfare Department permission to use the money to screen the young players.

Northern Ireland international, Jonny Evans has praised the Association’s Child Welfare Department for initiating the testing of the young players.

The 20-year-old defender who is the Ambassador for the IFA’s Child / Player Welfare Programme said: “I am pleased that the Child Welfare Department has taken the initiative to test our young international players as I cannot emphasis enough the importance of screening for cardiac abnormalities.”

The Child Welfare Department has been working closely with the CRY organisation so that information regarding Sudden Cardiac Death and the importance of screening young players is being communicated to the football community in Northern Ireland.  To date over 300 young players have been screened.

For further information visit the CRY website www.c-r-y.org.uk; email: cry@c-r-y.org.uk or telephone 01737 363 222.