MORE than 100 people are today being tested for the signs of a silent condition thanks to the family of a young Hampshire woman who died from the rare heart condition.
Loved ones of Claire Reed are hosting what is the county's first mass testing session for Sudden Adult Death Syndrome (SADS at Fleming Park Leisure Centre after the condition claimed the Eastleigh accountant's life.
Claire collapsed and died six months ago this weekend while celebrating at a friend's hen do in Taunton, Somerset in March - aged just 22.
The screening - which was booked up within 24 hours - provides testing for 100 youngsters aged 14-35 and is run in partnership with the Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) charity which raises awareness of the illness.
It is thanks to a fundraising drive by Claire's husband, Andy, along with her family and friends.
Now they are in talks with CRY to host six more screenings next year.
Andy, 27, from Eastleigh, said: “Thankfully we have raised enough funds to provide this screening today for young adults.
“It's a simple ECG test and they can find out at that point whether you have any heart defects with an echo test.
“It can be easily detected in a simple two minute non-invasive, non painful test.
“In my wife's case there was literally no signs or symptoms - and I can't stress that enough really. There was no heart murmurs, she never fainted or had black outs.
“There was absolutely nothing to suggest she had sudden adult syndrome.”
Claire's father Graham Hunter, 60, from Salwey Road, Botley, said: “It seems to hit the fit and healthy like Claire. She was doing all the right things, she was conscious of her weight, she went swimming and jogging and ate all the right foods.
Graham said following Claire's unexpected death, the family wanted to turn a negative to a positive by raising money for a mass screening. He said: “Italy has been screening for this for 25 years and they have reduced Deaths from SADS by 90 per cent.”
Another aim is to encourage sports centres to keep defibrillators to treat people who have collapsed with a heart problem.
Graham added: “She would be so proud of what we have achieved and it would not have been achieved without the kindness and generosity of people.”
Following a meeting with the family in June the Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has ordered NHS advisers to carry out a feasibility study into testing for the condition.
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