 Motherwell's Phil O'Donnell died from heart failure |
Scotland's first cardiac screening programme for young athletes has been opened at Hampden Park in Glasgow. The �200,000 pilot project will use ECG and ultrasound screening to test for susceptibility to Sudden Cardiac Death. Screening will be offered to athletes over the age of 16 who take part in any organised amateur sports. Calls for such a programme were made following the death from heart failure of Motherwell FC captain Phil O'Donnell, 35, in December. The screening service, at Hampden's Sports Medicine Centre, will be offered to the Scottish Institute for Sport, regional institutes of sport and sport governing bodies. Up to 4,000 people a year are expected to take part. The screening will combine questionnaires and testing to identify those at risk of Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD). Anyone found to be at greater risk of SCD will be referred to a specialist for further investigation or treatment. The programme is a collaboration between the Scottish Government, the Scottish Football Association (SFA) and the University of Glasgow. Scottish Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said: "Although SCD is very rare, it robs us of seemingly healthy young people with their whole lives ahead of them. The loss of each of these lives is a tragedy. "Many professional athletes can be screened by their sporting bodies, indeed, professional footballers in the SPL already have checks every year. 'Preventable deaths' "But until now there has been no opportunity for young Scots who participate in organised amateur sports to have access to appropriate testing. "The launch today of this pilot means that young Scots will soon be able to take part in sport with a greater degree of safety than in the past and help avoid the tragedy of further preventable deaths." The pilot project was welcomed by Wilma Gunn, 63, from Selkirk in the Scottish Borders, whose son Cameron died in 1991, the day before his 20th birthday. She later set up Scottish HART, a charity to raise funds for screening for all young athletes. "It's a big step forward to get a pilot scheme," she said.
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The launch today of this pilot means that young Scots will soon be able to take part in sport with a greater degree of safety than in the past and help avoid the tragedy of further preventable deaths
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