Scottish H.A.R.T.

THE campaign to have every young sportsman in Scotland monitored for a potentially fatal heart defect will be taken to parliament next week when the Scottish football team doctor and a mother who lost her son to the disorder put their case to MSPs.

Wilma Gunn, from Selkirk, who founded the charity Scottish Heart at Risk Testing (HART), and Professor Stewart Hillis want the Executive to fund a screening programme of 16-year-olds for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

The condition, a thickening of the heart muscles, has claimed the lives of talented youngsters, including Andy Thomson, of Motherwell, and Marc Vivien Foe, who played for Manchester Qty.

But unlike many other countries, there is no screening ser-vice in the UK to check teenagers before they indulge in strenuous games and sports.

Ms Gunn, whose son Cameron, 19, collapsed and died in 1991 while playing five-a-side football, has already raised the profile of cardiomyopathy through HART, which has paid for defibrillators at a number of locations throughout Scotland "Screening is seen by many as the way forward,* she said "In Greece, they even monitor children at the age of four, before they start school, and testing is the norm in many other countries."

Ms Gunn and Prof Hillis, professor of cardiovascular and exercise medicine at Glasgow University, will address the Parliament's public petitions committee on 27 October. "We already have good cross-party support, and routine testing would be crucial in cutting the tragic but unnecessary loss of

young people in a country which has a high death rate from heart disease", Ms Gunn said

Scottish HART's target is to raise £250,000 to pay for a mobile screening unit that would visit sports dubs and test teenagers before they indulged in activities that might trigger a heart attack.

Mrs Gunn says she has been concerned about the lack of information on how many deaths there may have been over the years from cardiomyopathy. Between four and ten people in the UK could be dying from the condition each week

But HART and its supporters appear to be facing an uphill struggle to convince enough politicians of the benefits of a comprehensive programme.

The Executive has already received guidance from a committee that considers proposals for national screening, services. According to that committee, routine testing for cardiomyopathy was not recommended The advice was that screening should not be undertaken on the basis of current knowledge, because a significant number of those diagnosed would go on to live a normal life span.

However, the test is available on request through the NHS. Anyone concerned that they or their children might be at risk can ask their GP to refer them to a cardiologist

HART and its patrons have called on previous health ministers for a monitoring programme. But so far the Executive has stuck with its decision that screening in Scotland is not necessary.

Fundraising by the charity has paid for defibrillators at two football stadiums Hampden Park and Pittodrie, at Ben Nevis, Raigmore Hospital, and at several locations in the Borders.

Football doctor backs campaign for tests

The condition of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy causes muscle thickening without an obvious cause.

Children and adolescents are usually diagnosed with it when family screening is performed after an adult in the family is found to be affected. Of these adults, approximately 50% will have experienced symptoms. There is no symptom or complaint which is unique to the problem.

Symptoms may include shortness of breath, chest pain, light-headedness, palpitations, and blackouts. The reason for their onset is often not clear and they may occur at any stage in life.

At present, there is no cure for the condition, although there is a slight possibility that some drugs may decrease the degree of muscle thickening. Surgery is another option.