Support Cardiac Risk in the Young’s screening programme

Support Cardiac Risk in the Young’s screening programme

CRY has been screening in sport since 1993.
CRY is the leading provider of screening in athletes in the UK, operating services for GB athletes, Premiership rugby (union and League), Premiership football teams, Lawn Tennis Association…. Elite athletes are referred to the CRY Centre for Sports Cardiology at St George’s when further tests are required.
CRY is a non profit organisation.
CRY aims to give all young people aged 14-35 the opportunity to have cardiac testing. Every person that CRY tests consents to having their results used for research purposes. Through supporting research we are able to publish our findings to inform best practice.
CRY’s first public screening was in 1997.
Any person aged 14-35 in the UK can book to be screened. The majority of CRY’s public screening events are funded by CRY supporters or major grants so there is no fee for the person wanting to be tested.
A specialist doctor attends every screening.
These specialist are trained and supervised by Consultant Cardiologist Professor Sanjay Sharma, a world expert on young hearts and sports cardiology. Specialism with screening is essential whether you are an elite athlete or enjoy sport recreationally.

What is the purpose of cardiac screening?

Sometimes an individual may have a cardiac abnormality without any symptoms. Screening with an electrocardiogram (ECG) is aimed at identifying people with conditions such as heart muscles disorders or electrical faults of the heart.

Is screening just for athletes?
At CRY, we believe all young people aged 14-35 should have the opportunity to be screened. Cardiac incidents can take place at any time. They are not limited to high-intensity sport; they may occur just jogging across the park or when asleep at night. The screenings programme is not just for people who play sport.

What will happen if I am found to have a condition?
It would depend on the condition. Although many of the conditions are not ‘curable’ they are all treatable and treatments range from lifestyle adaptations to drug therapy or, in some cases, surgery.

If you are concerned or experiencing any of the below symptoms, please contact your GP.

  • chest pain, especially during exercise.
  • loss of consciousness.
  • breathlessness.
  • dizziness.
  • heart palpitations or fluttering feeling.
  • unexplained fainting, especially during exercise.

If you pass out with no warning (i.e. you collapse and do not protect yourself by putting out your hands) please contact CRY prior to your GP appointment.

Event Venue Date
Leatherhead- Surrey CRY’s National Screening Centre
  • 11/01/2025 9:00 AM
Fully Booked
Leatherhead- Surrey CRY’s National Screening Centre
  • 19/01/2025 9:00 AM
Fully Booked
Haverfordwest - Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire College
  • 25/01/2025 9:00 AM
Fully Booked
Haverfordwest - Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire College
  • 26/01/2025 9:00 AM
Fully Booked
Garstang - Lancashire Garstang Community Academy
  • 01/02/2025 9:00 AM
Fully Booked
Garstang - Lancashire Garstang Community Academy
  • 02/02/2025 9:00 AM
Fully Booked

If the screening event you would have liked to have booked into is full, CRY has a screening interest email. Complete the form, to request to be informed directly via email when another screening in your area becomes available. Click here to complete the form.

What happens during an ECG

Why isn’t there a screening near me?
CRY screenings are generally funded by Memorial Funds which have been set up following the tragic death of a young person due to a young sudden cardiac death. The families, friends and local communities affected often raise funds to bring the screening service to their area, which means the locations of the CRY screenings are picked by them, CRY does try to encourage the free screening service to cover as much as the UK as possible and are very proud of our supporters and families who help us screen nearly 30,000 people each year. Please do keep an eye on the bookings page, or sign up to receive an email when we are next near you here: https://bit.ly/tmh-interest
I can never book a screening, they are fully booked too quickly. Is there a waiting list?
Unfortunately we can only hold screenings when and where we are resourced to do so, and that can mean there are some areas of the UK where screenings are booked out very quickly. Make sure you have filled out a screening interest form at https://bit.ly/tmh-interest to receive email updates of when screenings become available in your area. If you are regularly unable to register in time, please call our screening team on 0203 691 0000.
Why doesn’t CRY screen people under 14?
Our lower age limit for screening at CRY is 14 years of age. This is because we believe that most people at the age of 14 are well into puberty. This is important for us because conditions such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy do not manifest fully until the pubertal spurt. Therefore there is a risk that if we screen people below the age of 14 who have not reached puberty, we will miss people with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Conversely, in people under the age of 14, the heart is physically immature. Therefore there are certain abnormalities which include T-wave inversions, V1, V2 and V3 are common in young people. Unfortunately this ECG pattern overlaps with that seen in arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy so there is a risk of generating false positives in that situation.

CRY holds ECG screening clinics for those aged 14 to 35 at a number of established locations around the UK including London.  The CRY mobile screening unit facilitates various screening events at other locations in the UK – often organised by CRY supporters.

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Thank you