My star runner son was a heartbeat from death

Every week in the UK, 12 young people die from an undiagnosed heart condition and we desperately need more screening, say experts

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While training for his most important race of the season, athlete Scott Owen received a shock diagnosis.

The talented endurance runner, who was 15 at the time, was found to have a potentially serious heart condition that could cause a sudden cardiac arrest if left untreated. Yet it was only by chance it was picked up at all.

His mum Gail had heard about a heart screening day especially for young people that was taking place not far from their home in Portadown, Northern Ireland.

So in October 2023, she made sure Scott and his two older brothers and younger sister attended, joining 100 other youngsters for the screening.

And she was glad Scott went, as it may have saved his life.

"To be honest, there were no symptoms or any family history of heart issues and so we didn't have any concerns before heading to the screening," says Gail, a school classroom assistant, who is married to Kyle.

"So when Scott was found to have something wrong with his heart it came as a huge shock as he was fit, healthy and running all the time at a high level. We were all stunned."

Sudden

The screening was delivered by the UK lifesaving charity Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY). Its work includes holding mobile screening days at venues such as community centres and sports clubs across the UK.

Because the vast majority of CRY's screenings are funded by families bereaved due to a young, sudden, cardiac death, they are free, as are those at its national screening centre in Surrey.

During each session, experts use an electrocardiogram (ECG) to painlessly capture the rhythm of the heart. Any abnormalities are then flagged up and investigated.

In Scott's case, Gail was contacted following his screening and told he had a potentially serious issue. It was later confirmed to be Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) syndrome, which is caused by an electrical fault within the heart that means it beats too fast.