Centre for cardiac risk in the young opens
10 Nov 2008
Cardiac Risk in Young (CRY) will provide a cardiologist and a facility for 2,000 people to be screened there every year.
The main target group for screening will be people diagnosed with, or at risk from, heart disease at a young age, including relatives of victims of sudden cardiac death where the cause might be inherited.
Sudden cardiac death often affects elite athletes, and people taking part in high-intensity sports.
But doctors say that most young people affected die unexpectedly during routine activities or while sleeping.
The symptoms of inherited cardiac disease are unlikely to develop before adolescence, but they can include shortness of breath, palpitations, dizziness or blackouts.
People who might be at risk can be protected by implanting an internal cardioverter defibrillator, which controls abnormal heartbeats.
See RTE Report
here