Brentford Football Club was home to the final leg of a heart-screening scheme, backed by the parents of a Bees’ fan who died of heart failure aged just 14.
Tom Clabburn died from an undiagnosed heart condition in October 2007.
Since then his parents have campaigned for greater awareness of heart abnormalities in the young. The Brentford event was held in his memory.
The Test My Heart Tour, a collaboration between the charity CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young) and Phillips Healthcare, has travelled around 13 venues across the country in the past seven weeks, giving free screenings to 2,500 young people.
Tom’s dad Paul Clabburn said: “We do not want other families to suffer in the way ours have. We are giving young people a chance, a chance our generation never had.”
Andy Scott, manager of Brentford FC, who suffers with a heart condition, said: “The response around Brentford has been amazing, we can’t underestimate the impact this has had on the community.”
Brentford FC also carry the CRY logo on their away shirts.
Mr Scott added: “If it gets people asking questions and gets other young people tested it is an opportunity that can’t be missed.”
The event proved so popular CRY had to add two additional dates to accommodate the demand.
Steven Cox, director of screening for CRY, said: “We always expected the interest in these events to be strong but we never expected it to be this strong, the response has been unprecedented.”
The road show was aimed at young people aged between 14 and 35, who take part in regular competitive sports.
Thomas Brunskill, 15, from Brentford, was among those at the screening.
He said: “My mum saw the notice in the school newsletter and brought me down here. It’s a good thing to do because if you don’t, you never know if you’re going to be affected.”
Figures show 12 seemingly fit and healthy young people die from Sudden Death Syndrome every week in the UK alone.
During this national tour, 13 young people have been identified with heart abnormalities of varying degrees, some potentially fatal if they are not diagnosed.
A concerned mum from Chiswick, with two active children, said it was vital for young people to be screened.
Susanne Eames, 47, said: “It’s reassuring. Even though it is only a small step to making sure everything is alright. It is free, non-painful and available so why not take advantage?”
To find out more, visit testmyheart.org.
“In a specially-adapted, air-conditioned trailer I quickly completed some preliminary questions and was also weighed and measured.
One of the charming volunteers showed me to a room about the size of a dressing room, and I hopped up on the bed for her to place 12 stickers on my body – two on my ankles, two on each arm and the rest in various positions on my chest.
The 12 leads were attached, linking me to an electrocardiogram (ECG), recording the rhythm and electrical activity of my heart.
Within a minute the pain started. But it wasn’t the ECG – it was the ripping off of the stickers as the test was already over.
Never before has the phrase “blink and you’ll miss it” been so true.
A short consultation with a doctor revealed a healthy heartbeat and as long as I don’t begin to notice any symptoms I will not need to have another screening.
It amazed me something so simple could be potentially life saving.”
(our reporter Michelle Burgess was screened at the Brentford event – and found it a breeze.)
