The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
£10,000 needed to screen town’s young Adults
A two-day screening will aim to catch undetected heart conditions in 200 young adults in Whittlesey - but there is a £10,000 snag. The charity Defibrillators For All needs to raise the fivefigure sum to make sure the screening goes ahead on June 2 and 3.
Thecharity’s founder DeborahSlatorsaidresearchfrom Cardiac Risk in the Young showedthatabout1in200will be identified with a condition that could cause fatality or ill- ness in the future.
Shesaid: “Eachschoolyear in ourtownhas180pupils. Potentially one of those 180 may showasneedingfurthermedical intervention.
“The young person may have shownnosignsat all that theyhaveapre-existingconditionbutwedon’twanttotakea chance with any of them.
“Parents canresearch sudden cardiac arrest and it will shock them. We hope they will get behind our campaign andhelpustoraise the money neededtoprovidethisscreening.
“If it could save even one young person’s life it will be worth it.”
According to Deborah, morethanadozenyoungpeople die suddenly each week in the UKofpreviously undetected heart problems.
SofarDefibrillators ForAll has provided 50 public access defibrillators(PADS) forWhittlesey.
This means no other town in the country has as many PADS per person, said Deborah.
She added: “We now need to focus on our young people to ensure the town is as heart safe as possible.”
To donate to the charity, visit: https://www.justgiving. com/d-f-a. For more information on the screening, visit: http://www.c-r-y.org.uk/cardiac-screening/.