Bereaved family raise thousands for heart scans

Bereaved parents whose teenage daughter died from an undiagnosed heart condition have raised thousands of pounds to help young people access cardiac screening.

Anja Wilson, 19, died in her sleep at the family home in Clayton, Bradford, on 1 June 2025.

Anja's family have since raised £32,000 for the charity CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young), which will fund screening for 400 people aged between 14 and 35.

"We are really trying to impact our local community by our loss," said Anja's mum, Carly.

Speaking to BBC Radio Leeds, Anja's dad Kev paid tribute to his daughter as an "amazing individual".

"She was just 19 but could be 50 or 60, she was such an old soul," he said.

"She loved the simple things in life, loved nature, loved music - she was big into 60s and 70s music."

Carly said former Queensbury Academy pupil Anja had been on a gap year and had planned to study biology at the University of Edinburgh.

"She loved the heart, that was her favourite subject, which feels additionally cruel," said Carly.

Kev described her death as "the worst day of our lives".

Carly said she believed Anja had lived with a heart condition for all her life, but despite several warning signs it had gone undiagnosed.

In the weeks before her death, the teenager had seen a doctor after complaining of heart palpitations.

She had also suffered a seizure four years previously.

According to CRY, 12 fit and healthy young people die from an undiagnosed heart condition in the UK every week.

One in 300 young people screened are found to have a potentially life-threatening cardiac condition, the charity said.

Potential warning signs of young sudden cardiac death risk include chest pain, heart palpitations and dizziness.

Carly said Anja had also fainted when she attended live music concerts, which she said was thought to have been linked to the beat of the music passing through her body.

The family's ongoing fundraising efforts mean hundreds of young people will be able to access cardiac screenings in Halifax, where Anja went to sixth form college, Bradford, where the family live, and Leeds.

Carly said ensuring her daughter's legacy lived on through raising awareness of undiagnosed heart conditions and screening had helped with her grief.

"People rallying around us has helped me really cope," she added.

The family highlighted the absence of a national screening campaign and urged people to sign an ongoing petition calling for Parliament to introduce screening for every young person when they reach 14.

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