Pop‑up heart checks target young people

Pop-up heart screenings have been given to 200 people aged between 14 and 34 in a bid to raise awareness of cardiac health among younger generations.

The service was installed at St Edward's Royal Free Middle School in Windsor at the weekend and was provided by the Surrey-based charity Cardiac Risk in the Young.

Dr Nirmitha Jayaratne, a cardiologist with the charity, said that 12 young people were victims of sudden cardiac death every week and about 80% were asymptomatic.

The service cost £16,000 and funding was raised locally by the charity Windsor Lions and the Pauline Quirk Academy of Performing Arts, which is based at the school.

Sarah Riches, the academy's principal, said: "The motivation behind that was that sadly 13 years ago I lost one of my best friends, Matt Beadle, to an undiagnosed heart condition.

"He was a professional performer and it was a huge shock to all of us."

Experts used the Electro Cardio Gram (ECG) machine to monitor participants at the pop-up event.

Annie O'Donoghue, an ECG physiologist, was conducting the checks.

She said: "The machine picks up the electrical impulse that's generated inside the heart. It should go in a certain direction at a certain speed.

"There are quite a few things you can tell from that, if it's not normal."

Dr Jayaratne added: "There's currently no national screening programme for young people. This is why Cardiac Risk in the Young are offering these services."