EitC Hosts Free Heart Screening Event

EitC Hosts Free Heart Screening Event

Everton in the Community recently hosted a free-to-attend heart screening event at The People’s Hub, where three lives were potentially saved. Funding provided by Medicash has enabled the Club’s official charity to work in partnership with the Vital Signs Foundation (VSF) to deliver sudden cardiac arrest screening for young people aged between 15 and 35-years-old. A total of 96 young people attended on the day to be screened on the day, with three individuals identified as potentially having conditions linked to sudden cardiac death. In addition to this, 12 young people were advised to visit their GP for other health-related issues linked to their blood pressure.

Every week in the UK, a minimum of 12 apparently young and healthy young people die as a result of a sudden cardiac arrest

Thanks to the funding from Medicash, this was the third screening day hosted by Everton in the Community and over the three days, 278 young people have been screened with 10 potentially significant heart defects being identified and 42 heart-related problems. These are potentially fatal cases that would have otherwise gone unnoticed. However, attending a heart screening event to undertake a simple, non-invasive 10-minute test can identify a young person who might be at risk.

Everton in the Community’s Director of Health and Sport, Michael Salla, said: “The Healthy Hearts Programme, delivered in partnership with VSF, has proven to be a life-saving programme with ten young people being identified with potentially life-threatening heart conditions while, for others, it is peace of mind. We’re really grateful for the support from Medicash.”

Andy Abernethy, Medicash Marketing Manager, added: “We are delighted to be working with Everton in the Community and VSF in delivering this important and life-saving initiative. This is one area where there is still too little awareness and these healthy heart screenings could make all the difference. Just saving one life would be fantastic, but with this programme, we could be saving many families from the heartbreak and pain of losing a child.”