Brentford hosts live-saving heart screenings | OneFootball

Brentford hosted free heart screenings last weekend, providing potentially life-saving cardiac assessment for young people aged 18-35.

Held at the Community Stadium Hub across Saturday and Sunday, Heart of West London (HoWL) partner organisations Brentford FC Community Sports Trust (BFCCST), Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY), the Robert Rowan Memorial Fund (RRMF) and A-K-A Day charity ran the vital screenings.

198 people were able to undertake the cardiac assessment, following on from the 1000th free heart screening this time last year funded by RRMF.

According to CRY’s research, 12 young people under the age of 35 die each week in the UK from undiagnosed heart conditions.

HoWL’s mission is to prevent sudden cardiac death by increasing access to resources and support and by ensuring everyone has the skill to save lives.

Following the sudden death of her husband Robert, former Brentford technical director, who tragically suffered a fatal sudden cardiac arrest in 2018 aged 28, Suzanne has spearheaded free heart screenings.

She said: “I’m so pleased to be holding our ninth screening event with CRY in Robert’s memory, our fifth event with Brentford and third since the start of our HoWL initiative.

“I’m hugely grateful to the Trust and Club for the of use the Community Sports Hub. Robert’s legacy lives on through the vital work we do with CRY and our HoWL partnership.

“Screenings save lives and knowing that others will benefit and can be protected from an undiagnosed heart condition brings a lot of comfort.”

CRY CEO Steve Young added: “It was great for our screening team to be back at Brentford over the weekend, testing the hearts of young people from the local community in partnership with the Robert Rowan Memorial Fund and the A-K-A Day charity – and of course, our friends from the Brentford family.

“We believe that all young people aged 14-35 - wherever they live in the UK - should have access to expert cardiac screening.

"As a charity representing the voices of young people and the many families affected by young sudden cardiac death, we will continue to campaign for greater awareness and the roll out of national screening programme.

“Every week, 12 apparently fit and healthy young people lose their lives to sudden cardiac death in the UK. In a staggering 80 per cent of these cases, there will have been no previous symptoms or warning signs of a heart defect.

“We know screening saves lives and we’re therefore so grateful for the ongoing commitment of Suzanne Rowan and everyone involved with the Brentford community who continue to fundraise and advocate for testing the hearts of young people.”

For those hoping to contribute to the RRMF, A-K-A Day is open and taking sign-ups here. Sign up to a set daily distance of 1km to 10km per day and cover that distance every day for the month of May.