Registered charity number: 1050845
Every week in the UK at least 12 young people die of undiagnosed heart conditions. Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) works to reduce the frequency of young sudden cardiac death and support the bereaved.
CRY was formed in 1995 to increase the awareness of cardiac risk in the young, to support those diagnosed with potentially life-threatening cardiac conditions and offer bereavement support to families affected by young sudden cardiac death (YSCD).
It is hard to accept that a young person who appears fit and healthy can be at risk from heart problems, let alone come to terms with their sudden death. Every week at least 12 apparently fit and healthy young people aged 35 and under, die from undiagnosed heart conditions across the UK. You may be aware of ‘Sudden death syndrome’ which is now a blanket term used for YSCD. YSCD is actually caused from many different conditions such as the thickening or abnormal structure of the heart muscle and irregularities in the heart’s electrical impulses upsetting a natural rhythm.
Awareness is key to preventing YSCD. CRY works hard to make high-quality information available to the general public – publishing and distributing medical information written by leading cardiologists. A simple way to diagnose most cardiac abnormalities is a quick, painless and non-invasive test called an ECG, which records the electrical activity of the heart. CRY funds the promotion and development of heart screening programmes across the country, including their own CRY screening events where any person between the ages of 14 and 35 can attend.
CRY’s screening programmes not only identifies people at risk but also provides valuable data on cardiac abnormalities, which the charity uses as part of their research at one of the world’s leading centres into YSCD – the CRY Centre for Inherited Cardiovascular Conditions and Sports Cardiology.
If young people are diagnosed with a heart condition, CRY is there to support them with the ‘myheart Network’, which provides help, support and information to young people coping with their diagnosis.
For those left coping with the aftermath of YSCD, CRY provides a range of support, from a fast-track cardiac pathology service for bereaved families, through to their network of trained counsellors with personal experience of a similar tragedy. CRY also facilitates the opportunity for bereaved families to come together at meetings across the UK.
Your old car donation with Charity Car will help CRY with this invaluable work. Even the lowest scrap car donation could fund the production and delivery of CRY information packs or the cost of a counselling call with CRY after a young person dies.
A higher value car donation could cover an ECG test and maybe even the consultation, and an auction-worthy vehicle donation could fund a CRY bereavement support day or research into an affected heart.
