Thank you for adding another voice to this campaign.
Isn’t young sudden cardiac death rare? Aren’t you just as likely to be killed by lightning?
Young sudden cardiac death is rare compared to cardiac deaths in the elderly and middle-aged, but it is not rare compared to the other most common causes of death in young people (e.g. road traffic accidents, suicides, accidental poisonings, etc – http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/subnational-health1/leading-causes-of-death/2009/index.html). Many medical professionals and policy advisors still incorrectly think a young sudden cardiac death is as rare as being killed by lightning – which is simply wrong. This thinking is outdated, dangerous if applied to medical decision making and should have no place in modern scientific reports or policy recommendations.
We already know that there are 12 deaths a week, why do you need to do this campaign?
UK policy advisors only considered UK data from a national audit which suggested there is less than 1 death a week in the UK. They ignored CRY data and research which shows a much higher figure. This is an incredible insult to affected families; nearly half of the 600 families who experienced a young sudden cardiac death in 2014 (over 250 families) were supported by CRY. However, we believe if the government and policy advisors are confronted with the names of the young people who have died, not just a number, then they can no longer disregard our evidence.
I have had a cardiac arrest, is there any way I can support this campaign?
If you have had a cardiac arrest and are aged 35 or under, we would encourage you to join the CRY myheart support network. We will keep a record of when you had the cardiac arrest and what caused the cardiac arrest; and you can then decide if you would like to be connected with a network of other young people who have had similar experiences. We are taking forward a number of initiatives with myheart members and by becoming part of this network you will be helping CRY to understand the impact of cardiac conditions on young people.
I don’t have the post-mortem, how do I request another copy?
To request another copy of the coroner’s report, contact the coroner’s office. If they no longer have the record then enquire the name of the pathologist who provided the post-mortem report, or ask the coroner’s officer for advice about where you can obtain a copy.