CRY is a national UK charity preventing young sudden cardiac deaths through awareness, screening and research, and supporting affected families.
It can be hard tobelieve that a youngperson who appears fit and healthy may be at riskfrom heart problems. However, every week in the UK at least 12 apparently fit and healthy youngpeople aged 35 and under die from undiagnosed heart conditions.
Sudden deathsyndrome is an umbrellaterm used forthe many different causes of youngsuddencardiacdeath (YSCD). c-r-y.org.uk/medical-information
Bereavement Support
Helping individuals and families
CRY has a dedicated bereavement support programme to support families and friends after the tragedy of young sudden cardiac death.
Emotional Support
CRY offers telephone support to anyone over the age of 18; Group support at National Bereavement Support Days; two annual walks in London and Durham and online support via Facebook groups.
Medical Support
CRY offers specialist centres for expert cardiac pathology, expert cardiac investigations and cardiology care. Expertise are vital to understand the cause of death and to help identify other family members who may be at risk.
c-r-y.org.uk/bereavement
my heart Network
CRY's myheart Network provides help, support and information to people who are coping with the diagnosis of an inherited or congenital heart condition. myheart offers medical information and peer to peer support.
Support for people diagnosed with heart conditions myheart.org.uk
www.c-r-y.org.uk
Screening and research
In 80% ofcases ofyoung sudden cardiacdeath (YSCD) there are no prior symptoms of a heart defect.
CRY believes the frequencyof YSCD can be dramatically reduced by making heart screeningavailableto allyoung people between the ages of14 and 35. CRY operates anational screeningprogrammein theUKand fundsmedicalresearch intotheconditions that cancause YSCD.
Cardiac Screening
Identifying young people at risk
Asimpleway to diagnosemost cardiac abnormalitiesisa quick, painlessand non-invasive test calledanECG which records the electrical activity of theheart. If a moredetailed image isrequired, an ultrasound scan of theheart –called an echocardiogram – can be taken.Any person betweenthe ages of14and 35 can book a place at a CRY screening event. testmyheart.org.uk
CRY recommends young people are referred (through their GP) to a specialist cardiologist for screening if they are experiencing any of thefollowing symptoms:
• chest pain (exercise-related)
• breathlessness
• palpitations
• dizziness
• fainting
All first-degree relativesshould also seek referral to a specialist cardiologist when there has been a young sudden death in thefamily.
Research
Furthering our understanding of young sudden death
CRY’s screeningprogramme notonlyidentifiespeople atrisk but alsoprovides data for vital research into cardiac abnormalities. CRY Consultant Cardiologist,Professor Sanjay Sharma,directs oneofthe world’sleading centres for researchinto conditions causing sudden death syndrome–theCRY Centre for Inherited CardiovascularConditions and Sports Cardiology. The centre’s findings are published in peer-reviewedjournals andCRY’s researchhasdeveloped internationally recognised guidelines forcardiacscreeninganddiagnostics. c-r-y.org.uk/research
The Future of Screening
Ground-breaking research published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology — following more than 104,000 young people screened by CRY — has proven that 1 in 300 have a potentially life-threatening heart condition. More than 41% of those diagnosed go on to receive life-saving interventions beyond medical management.
AI Cardiac Screening Power the Future of Cardiac Screening
As part of our 2030 Strategic Vision, CRY is investing in a major AI Cardiac Screening and Research Project. Using 30+ years of screening data from over 104,000 young people, AI tools will help clinicians identify at-risk young people faster, more accurately and more accessibly than ever before.
•Make specialist ECG expertise more accessible to clinicians everywhere
•Reduce the cost of screening
•Enable repeat testing through wearables
•Support universal screening for all 14–35s
•Grow the world's largest dataset of young people screened for cardiac conditions
“AI has the potential to considerably enhance the power and accuracy of ECG as a screening tool — as well as massively upscaling a nationwide screening programme and significantly reducing costs.”
— Professor Michael Papadakis
Every pound donated contributes to saving lives, improving screening, and preventing young sudden cardiac deaths through cutting-edge technology and research.
What CRY has achieved
CRY was the first organisation todraw attention to the range ofconditions that can cause young sudden cardiac death (YSCD).
CRY is dedicatedto saving the livesof young people affected bythese conditions through screening, research and raising awareness.
Since it began in 1995 CRY has:
• successfully informed governmentpolicy, leading to new NHS guidelines for whatshould happen aftera young suddendeath
• seen the formation oftheCRY AllPartyParliamentaryGroup (APPG), whichhasattracted cross-partysupport andhasa membershipof over 60 MPs
• developed theCRYnational screeningprogramme and established clinicsaround the UK
• screened over 250,000 youngpeople
• foundedtheCRYCentre forCardiac Pathology (CRYCCP) toprovide a fast-trackservice forbereaved families
• established the CRY Centrefor Inherited Cardiovascular Conditions and Sports Cardiology at StGeorge’sHospital inLondon –bringingtogetherresearch into YSCD,regular screening clinics,experttreatment,andtheworld’s first specialist centrefor thecardiacevaluation ofathletes
• funded over 40 CRY ResearchFellowship grants
• published over 200 articles, bookchaptersand academic papers in peer-reviewed medical journals
• launched the annual CRY InternationalMedicalConference, whereworldexperts incardiology present the latest developments in theirresearch
Why does CRY need your help?
Your involvement, however, small, is crucial to helpingus raise awareness about the risk of sudden cardiacdeath in young people.
Byfundraising for CRY you will behelping to:
• subsidise and expand CRY’s nationalscreeningprogramme. Ouraim is to make cardiacscreening accessibleto all young people aged between 14 and 35
• fundour Bereavement Support Programmetoprovide counselling andsupport to affected families
• support researchinto youngsudden cardiac death
• developthe myheartNetwork to provide help, support and information to youngpeople living withcardiac conditions
• provide allCRY literature and information free of charge uponrequest
