Cardiac Screening for 2,000 GAA Players – Irish Times

MOBILE CARDIAC SCREENING FOR 2000 GAA PLAYERS

Irish Times-Health
Tuesday, 29th March 2011

Mobile cardiac screening for 2,000 GAA players

Brian O’Connell

Heartaid, a new mobile cardiac screening service founded by Cork man Ed Donovan, has agreed a deal with the Gaelic Players Association (GPA) to provide screening to inter county players.

The programme, which will be available to more than 2,000 players across the country, will be funded by the GPA, and follows recommendations made by the GAA’s medical, scientific and welfare committee.

Recent reports have found that the incidence of Sudden Adult Death Syndrome (SADS) is higher in the Republic of Ireland than many other European countries.  Studies have shown that cardiac screening is an effective way of assessing risk in young persons in particular.

Heartaid provides mobile cardiac screening to schools, clubs and organisations involved in sport.  The programme began two weeks ago with members of the Kildare senior football team, and will continue for six months.  The cardiac screening unit is brought to t allocation of the player’s choice, and each player is asked to fill out a personal and family history questionnaire.  They are then examined by a medical doctor and submit to an electrocardiogram.  The result of these tests are reviewed by a consultant cardiologist and a final report sent to each player.

Mr. Donovan said:  “In Italy, cardiac screening is mandatory for people involved in competitive sports.  They have reduced the incidents of sudden cardiac death by 89 per cent”.

Heartaid in the Irish Medical News

Niamh Cahill looks at newly established mobile cardiac screening service Heartaid and examines how it is helping to detect potentially life-threatening cardiac conditions in senior inter-county GAA players.

It is estimated that at least one person under the age of 35 dies suddenly every week in Ireland from cardiac diseases such as cardiomyopathy or sudden cardiac death syndrome (SCDS). However, the lack of accurate statistics has meant that it is still unknown exactly how many people die from SCD syndrome and how Ireland compares to other countries in terms of prevalence. A report titled, “Sudden Cardiac Death in the Young”, published late last year by the Sudden Cardiac Death in the Young Registry at the Mater Hospital examined incident rates between 2005 and 2007. It found that 119 confirmed SCD cases occurred between 2005 and 2007 – 75 per cent of which occurred in men.

The incidence of SCD in those aged between 15-35 years in Ireland was 2.68 per 100,000 a year. “The incidence rates in this report may be an underestimation of the true figure due to missing or inadequate data resulting in case exclusions,” the report states. “The incidence is higher than in other similar European studies performed in Iceland and in Sweden. The reason for this is unclear and requires further investigation.” The registry, established in 2008, will conduct studies for the years 2008 onwards and has recommended that “a national standard protocol for the performance of postmortems in cases of SCD should be agreed and implemented”. As efforts continue at a national level to accurately record the number of deaths from SCD, Heartaid, Ireland’s first private dedicated cardiac screening service, is providing screening to more than 2,000 GAA players.

By the end of the year it is envisaged that all senior intercounty GAA players will have been given the opportunity to undergo potentially lifesaving cardiac screening. Based in Cork, Heartaid (www.heartaid.ie) is conducting screening at the behest of the Gaelic Players Association (GPA) and has so far screened more than 19 teams and over 500 players. Founder and Director of Heartaid, Mr Ed Donovan, explained that one or two players from each team is usually found to have an abnormal ECG, heart murmur or simply something in their family history that suggests they may need to go for further investigation. Mr Donovan has never been directly affected by SCD, but developed an strong interest in the area through his work in healthcare management. “The more research I did the more I thought there was a need for screening.

I thought if I can make it accessible and affordable and with the right medical people it would work,” he told IMN. Mr Donovan attends every screening along with a GP, medical doctor and cardiac technician. Each player is asked to fill out a questionnaire to obtain as much information as possible about their health and level of physical exercise. A physical examination is subsequently undertaken where blood pressure and other measurements are taken to search for signs of cardiac diseases or irregular heart rhythms. Some of the risk factors include fainting and blackingout for unknown reasons and a fast heartrate that comes and goes, even when resting. Taking part in sports does not cause SCD but physical exercise can trigger a previously undetected heart problem, causing sudden cardiac arrest. Heartaid has also conducted screenings in golf and hockey clubs and the service may undertake screenings in schools in the future.

Aside from sporting clubs, Heartaid also operates a screening clinic once a month in Cork City where individuals concerned about SCD can receive information or be screened. Cork-based GP Dr Ed Donovan, Mr Donovan’s father, has conducted screenings at the clinic and told IMN that about 70 per cent of attendees are male. He maintained that a lot of concerned parents make appointments for their children to be seen at the clinic due to a concern about SCD and the fact that inherited cardiac disease is known to cause cases of SCD. He opined that screening is essential for everyone participating in any type of sports activity and especially for those who have a family history of cardiac disease. Mr Donovan went even further and suggested that “based on research in other countries it definitely warrants consideration that it be mandatory” in Ireland. In Italy, cardiac screening is mandatory for anyone taking part in organised or competitive sports. This has led to a reduction of up to 89 per cent in SCD, Mr Donovan remarked. “If the same situation existed in Ireland and it was mandatory the results could be similar to Italy,” he said.

The possibility of screening becoming mandatory unfortunately seems like a distant prospect, however. Last month Health Minister James Reilly stated that the Department of Health had no plans to create a scheme for grants to purchase automated external defibrillators (AEDs). In response to a Parliamentary Question on the matter by Independent Deputy Tom Fleming, he stated that, “my Department does not propose to introduce a scheme for grants to be made available for the purchase of defibrillators or other such equipment. Acquiring concrete data on SCD remains a priority and its benefits cannot be outweighed. The “Sudden Cardiac Death in the Young” report stresses that accurate data is essential to “assist health care planners to understand the potential impact of genetic testing facilities and national family screening services, and to examine any change in disease frequency over time. “Furthermore, such knowledge of the burden of SCD in a country will assist in improving awareness of this lethal condition for health care providers, coroners, and pathologists, as well as for the general population themselves.”

Heartaid covered in the Irish Medical News -June 2010

Helping to make hearts healthy

 

Niamh Cahill looks at newly established mobile cardiac screening service Heartaid and examines how it is helping to detect potentially life-threatening cardiac conditions in senior inter-county GAA players.

It is estimated that at least one person under the age of 35 dies suddenly every week in Ireland from cardiac diseases such as cardiomyopathy or sudden cardiac death syndrome (SCDS). However, the lack of accurate statistics has meant that it is still unknown exactly how many people die from SCD syndrome and how Ireland compares to other countries in terms of prevalence. A report titled, “Sudden Cardiac Death in the Young”, published late last year by the Sudden Cardiac Death in the Young Registry at the Mater Hospital examined incident rates between 2005 and 2007. It found that 119 confirmed SCD cases occurred between 2005 and 2007 – 75 per cent of which occurred in men.

The incidence of SCD in those aged between 15-35 years in Ireland was 2.68 per 100,000 a year. “The incidence rates in this report may be an underestimation of the true figure due to missing or inadequate data resulting in case exclusions,” the report states. “The incidence is higher than in other similar European studies performed in Iceland and in Sweden. The reason for this is unclear and requires further investigation.” The registry, established in 2008, will conduct studies for the years 2008 onwards and has recommended that “a national standard protocol for the performance of postmortems in cases of SCD should be agreed and implemented”. As efforts continue at a national level to accurately record the number of deaths from SCD, Heartaid, Ireland’s first private dedicated cardiac screening service, is providing screening to more than 2,000 GAA players.

By the end of the year it is envisaged that all senior intercounty GAA players will have been given the opportunity to undergo potentially lifesaving cardiac screening. Based in Cork, Heartaid (www.heartaid.ie) is conducting screening at the behest of the Gaelic Players Association (GPA) and has so far screened more than 19 teams and over 500 players. Founder and Director of Heartaid, Mr Ed Donovan, explained that one or two players from each team is usually found to have an abnormal ECG, heart murmur or simply something in their family history that suggests they may need to go for further investigation. Mr Donovan has never been directly affected by SCD, but developed an strong interest in the area through his work in healthcare management. “The more research I did the more I thought there was a need for screening.

I thought if I can make it accessible and affordable and with the right medical people it would work,” he told IMN. Mr Donovan attends every screening along with a GP, medical doctor and cardiac technician. Each player is asked to fill out a questionnaire to obtain as much information as possible about their health and level of physical exercise. A physical examination is subsequently undertaken where blood pressure and other measurements are taken to search for signs of cardiac diseases or irregular heart rhythms. Some of the risk factors include fainting and blackingout for unknown reasons and a fast heartrate that comes and goes, even when resting. Taking part in sports does not cause SCD but physical exercise can trigger a previously undetected heart problem, causing sudden cardiac arrest. Heartaid has also conducted screenings in golf and hockey clubs and the service may undertake screenings in schools in the future.

Aside from sporting clubs, Heartaid also operates a screening clinic once a month in Cork City where individuals concerned about SCD can receive information or be screened. Cork-based GP Dr Ed Donovan, Mr Donovan’s father, has conducted screenings at the clinic and told IMN that about 70 per cent of attendees are male. He maintained that a lot of concerned parents make appointments for their children to be seen at the clinic due to a concern about SCD and the fact that inherited cardiac disease is known to cause cases of SCD. He opined that screening is essential for everyone participating in any type of sports activity and especially for those who have a family history of cardiac disease. Mr Donovan went even further and suggested that “based on research in other countries it definitely warrants consideration that it be mandatory” in Ireland. In Italy, cardiac screening is mandatory for anyone taking part in organised or competitive sports. This has led to a reduction of up to 89 per cent in SCD, Mr Donovan remarked. “If the same situation existed in Ireland and it was mandatory the results could be similar to Italy,” he said.

The possibility of screening becoming mandatory unfortunately seems like a distant prospect, however. Last month Health Minister James Reilly stated that the Department of Health had no plans to create a scheme for grants to purchase automated external defibrillators (AEDs). In response to a Parliamentary Question on the matter by Independent Deputy Tom Fleming, he stated that, “my Department does not propose to introduce a scheme for grants to be made available for the purchase of defibrillators or other such equipment. Acquiring concrete data on SCD remains a priority and its benefits cannot be outweighed. The “Sudden Cardiac Death in the Young” report stresses that accurate data is essential to “assist health care planners to understand the potential impact of genetic testing facilities and national family screening services, and to examine any change in disease frequency over time. “Furthermore, such knowledge of the burden of SCD in a country will assist in improving awareness of this lethal condition for health care providers, coroners, and pathologists, as well as for the general population themselves.”

 

IRFU offers condolences to Robinson family

The Irish Rugby Football Union has offered it’s condolences to the family of Ben Robinson, the Ulster student who died after he collapsed while playing rugby on Saturday.

Ben passed away on Sunday evening. He collapsed while playing a match for Carrickfergus Grammar School on Saturday morning.

IRFU President Caleb Powell said: ‘It was with great shock and sadness that I learnt of the passing of Ben and I would like to take this opportunity on behalf of the entire rugby family across Ireland to pass the deepest condolences to Ben’s parents and family.

 

‘To lose such a young life is incredibly saddening and I would also like to pass my sympathy to his team mates and school friends in Carrickfergus Grammar School. The thoughts and prayers of Irish Rugby are with you all at this time.’

GAA issue update on Cardiac Screening

Dr Danny Mulvihill

Dr Danny Mulvihill

The GAA’s Medical Scientific & Welfare Committee has announced an update to its position paper on Cardiac screening following the completion of a two year research programme in which nearly 300 GAA players were examined in an attempt to assess the effectiveness of various screening methods.

Following consideration of the results of the programme and the most up to date international best practice guidelines, the GAA have advised that the most effective way to identify risk is for players over the age of 14 to undergo cardiac screening on one occasion.

It is also advised that this process be repeated before the age of 25. Players should consult their team or family doctor if they wish to get screened and screening should consist of completion of the GAA’s Cardiac Screening Questionnaire, a Physical Examination and an ECG.

 

The Chairman of the GAA’s Medical, Scientific and Welfare Committee, Dr Danny Mulvihill said: ‘The instance of Sudden Cardiac Death in the general populace under 35 is a rare occurrence and remains very difficult to predict. The study we undertook would indicate that cardiac screening along the lines we have suggested is the best predictor of potential risk.

He added that while no screening programme is 100% effective, it has been shown to help in identifying risk in the general populace. Dr Mulvihill also welcomed the recent report of the National Taskforce on Sudden Cardiac Death which had found that less than one in ten of all instances of the condition occurred while under exertion such as playing football or hurling.

The Medical Committee today also announced details of a new initiative being rolled out in association with the GPA which will assist doctors in interpreting ECG’s. Dr Muvihill explained: ‘Interpretation of ECG’s in athletes can present difficulties and where difficulties arise, the GAA in conjunction with the Gaelic Players Association (GPA) have implemented a programme whereby any doctors carrying out a cardiac screening programme for a GAA player will be able to send that ECG to the cardiac department in the Mater under Dr. Joseph Galvin to have a sports cardiology opinion on the ECG.’

He said that the availability of such a facility should prove extremely beneficial in assisting diagnosis.

The project will be funded as part of the player welfare initiatives being rolled out by the GPA in association with the GAA and follow similar initiatives undertaken in this area by the GAA including and training initiatives for club members, officers and match officials.

‘Mobile screening gets to the Heart of the matter’ -The Irish Times

BRIAN O’CONNELL

The organisers of a new service hope it will help to curtail the high incidence of sudden cardiac death syndrome

IT’S SATURDAY morning in the Lee Valley Golf Club near Ovens in Co Cork. Sets of clubs are unloaded from car boots as several mostly middle-aged men go through some stretching exercises. Others stuff chocolate bars and bottles of sports drinks into their pockets and stride purposefully towards the first tee.

Inside the clubhouse, former healthcare worker Ed Donovan is setting up his stall and showing his medical staff of one nurse and a doctor to their respective rooms. Donovan has recently set up a mobile cardiac screening company called Heartaid, having spotted a gap in the market for targeted cardiac services.

The screening this morning is specifically aimed at those under 35, in an attempt to arrest the high incidence of early sudden death syndrome in Ireland. Recent research shows that sudden cardiac death (SCD) here is higher than in many EU countries, with 119 deaths occurring between 2005 and 2007. This gives an incidence of SCD in the 15-35 age bracket of 2.68 per 100,000, with males twice as likely to die as females. The researchers went on to note: “The incidence is higher than in other similar European studies performed in Iceland and in Sweden. The reason for this is unclear and requires further investigation.”

I volunteered to attend Heartaid’s first screening. My consultation began with a health check by the doctor (and Ed’s father) Dr Edmund Donovan who takes patients’ blood pressure, does a routine check-up and listens to their heart rate. He also compiles a questionnaire to check for genetic symptoms.

“A lot of cardiac problems occur during sporting events, or potentially occur, especially if people are pushing themselves,” he says.

“It can be due to metabolic things, or it could be an inherent heart disease no one picked up on. It is like the old story of the fella who was never at the doctor a day in his life, but he died suddenly. This is the reason prevention is better than cure.”

One of the reasons Lee Valley Golf Club is happy to host the screenings is that in recent years two heart-related fatalities have occurred on the course. A defibrillator has been installed recently and, weeks after it was put in place, the club captain was called upon to use it.

Golf director David Keohane takes up the story. “A few months ago we had a captain’s prize and on our 12th hole a member had a heart attack out on the course. We had only recently had a defibrillator installed and on the day there were only four people trained in how to use it. One of the people trained was the captain and he was the only person here who could use the apparatus. So they rushed him out to the course in a buggy to use the defibrillator on him. This saved his life, so said the paramedics and the doctor.”

Keohane says that many in the sporting field are now more aware of sudden death syndrome, given some recent high profile deaths in the Irish sports community. “We’ll always support something to do with heart and screening. It is so in the news at the moment, between GAA and basketball people dropping dead,” he says.

“Some are trying to associate it with sports drinks or nutrition supplements. I played a lot of sport and go to the gym, and I know that if you have a ticking time bomb inside you, for whatever reason, you need to know about it.”

Back in the waiting room several club members and locals are queuing up to be seen by the medical staff. One of those, William O’Brien, recently stopped playing competitive rugby, and has become a lot more conscious about his health since.

“I’d have a check-up every now and again but never anything like this. I am 30 years old now and I gave up rugby about six months ago. When you get to your late 20s and 30s, you start taking health a lot more seriously. The big thing is when you hear about sudden death and fellows around your age dropping dead: you realise that these things do happen.”

Donovan checks my body mass index, completes a personal and family history questionnaire, and then I’m passed to a nurse specialist for an electrocardiogram. The test itself takes about 10 minutes. During it, I’m connected to a recording device through a series of leads. This in turn records the electrical activity of my heart. It will be read off-site by a specialist and the results assessed.

All in all, the consultation and the examination takes about 30 minutes and costs € 80 per person. Five days after the screening, the results of the electrocardiogram arrive by post. They are normal.

The hope is that the service will be rolled out nationally in the coming weeks, visiting schools, clubhouses and sporting facilities. “In Italy, it is mandatory for anyone who plays competitive sports to have cardiac screenings based on the service we are offering,” says Ed Donovan.

“They have reduced the instance of sudden cardiac death by 89 per cent, so it is proven that it works. I saw there were certain issues for people getting screened in Ireland. One was accessibility and the other was cost. By bringing this service directly to people, at an affordable price, we are hoping to change that.”


For more details see heartaid.ie or tel: 1890-300333

Concern at sudden cardiac death rate

THE INCIDENCE of sudden cardiac death (SCD) among young people in the Republic is higher than in a number of other European countries, according to a report.

The first report from the national register, set up to document all cases of SCD in those aged 15-35 in the State, says 119 deaths which occurred during the three-year period from 2005 to 2007 have been included on the register.

This gives an incidence of SCD among this age bracket of 2.68 per 100,000. The incidence among males was twice that of females.

“The incidence is higher than in other similar European studies performed in Iceland and in Sweden. The reason for this is unclear and requires further investigation,” the report says.

Dr Andrew Roy, cardiology specialist registrar at the Mater hospital, Dublin, and one of the authors of the report, said it was likely that genetic predispositions in different populations were responsible for the variations.

The overall incidence of SCD was estimated at 0.93 per 100,000 in Sweden between 1992 and 1999 among a similar age group and at 1.47 per 100,000 in Iceland.

“It is clear from these findings that SCD in the young, whilst a rare event at population level, represents a significant challenge in Ireland, with an estimated incidence of three cases every month. It can also be assumed that this figure is something of an underestimate,” the report says. Given the fact that inherited cardiac disease is known to cause cases of SCD, the importance of early family screening cannot be understated, the report adds.

Some 292 cases of possible SCD between 2005 and 2007 were examined before final figures were included in the register. Any cases where alcohol or drugs showed up in toxicology reports were excluded, which means the total numbers in the register may be an underestimation of the true extent of the problem.

Of the 119 confirmed SCD cases finally included in the register, some 46 per cent occurred while the young person was asleep. Just 8 per cent occurred while under exertion such as playing football, while the circumstances of the other 46 per cent were unknown or not stated.

Dr Roy said while SCD has traditionally been considered a young sportsperson’s illness and may have stopped some people allowing their children play, it was important to note many deaths did not occur while exercising.

A national taskforce on SCD was set up in 2004 in the wake of public concern about what appeared to be an increased incidence of sudden cardiac death among young sportsmen like the late Tyrone footballer Cormac McAnallen.

It recommended a register of all SCDs be compiled. The registry, which was set up last year, will report on sudden cardiac deaths for the years 2008 and 2009 by the end of next year and produce annual reports thereafter.

Miguel Garcia ‘continues to improve’ after suffering heart-attack during Spanish league game

Spanish second division side UD Salamanca have released a very positive statement about the health of player Miguel Garcia who ‘died’ for almost half a minute during Sunday’s match against Real Betis.

Garcia collapsed in the centre circle after suffering a heart attack early in the second half. The 31-year-old was revived on the pitch before being rushed to Salamanca’s University Hospital, where the club say his condition continues to improve following surgery.

Team physician Jose Ignacio Garrido said after the match that the player was legally dead for 25 seconds. He added that his playing days were almost certainly over.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1323894/Miguel-Garcia-continues-improve-heart-attack-Spanish-league-game.html#ixzz1420GSqN2