Hounslow Chronicle (Web) – 1st July 2009
By Jessica Thomas
Tom Clabburn died in his sleep from an undiagnosed cardiac disease. A young Brentford fan who went to bed with a suspected virus and never woke up was remembered this
week at the final leg of a heart testing tour. Tom Clabburn died in his sleep from an undiagnosed cardiac disease aged just 14 in October 20907m and is must one of the 12 young victims of Sudden Cardiac Death who die in the UK every week.
Over the past two months charity Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) have tested over 2,100 young people’s hearts in 13 UK locations and they ended their tour at Brentford Football Club on Monday.
Tom’s father Paul Clabburn from Elers Road in Ealing said: “Heart screening is something we wish we had done. We don’t want families to go through what we went through and if we can help just one person then it will be all worthwhile. “It’s part of Tom’s legacy” said the 49-year-old journalist.
The Test My Heart Tour is the first free national heart screening tour which uses a specially designed mobile unit to detect any abnormalities that could lead to Sudden Death Syndrome.
Andy Scott, assistant manager at Brentford FC, became a patron of CRY after being diagnosed with the heart disease Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy and joined Tom’s parents Paul and Claire Prosser at the Griffin Park event.
So far out of over 2,000 young people who had an ECG test (14 to 35-year-olds), 8.8 per cent were required to have a supplementary ultrasound and potentially fatal heart conditions were found in four people.
Alison Cox COE of CRY, said: “80 per cent of young people who die suddenly have no previous symptoms and the only way to find out if they are at risk is through screening. “These results show that screening can save the lives of fit and healthy young people who have no idea they are at risk.”
