Budget 2015: Osborne's pledge to invest in defibrillators in schools and public places
Cardiac Risk in the Young welcomes the Chancellor's announcement to invest in defibrillators in schools and public places.
Dr Steven Cox, Deputy Chief Executive of Cardiac Risk in the Young, says; "AEDs, CPR and cardiac screening are all essential to save young lives. We know 80% of SADS [sudden arrhythmic deaths] occur at home or in sleep and we hope this decision will pave the way to a review of national screening policy to ensure young people at risk are identified before suffering a cardiac arrest.
This is an important first step - now we need to focus on preventing cardiac arrests in young people."
Dr Cox adds; "CRY will be screening over 20,000 young people this year in our 20th anniversary year and over 70,000 young people have been screened by CRY since being founded in 1995.
"CRY has funded over £2,000,000 of research leading to changes in international screening policy and practice and training young specialists in conditions causing young sudden death. Over 1,400 families have been given a cause of death through CRY’s funding of the CRY Centre for Cardiac Pathology and 1,000s of family members are given fast track specialist cardiac referrals to the CRY Centre for Inherited Cardiac Conditions each year."
