West Midlands

Matthew Gadsby was a young, perfectly fit and healthy footballer, whose career had seen him play at Walsall, Kidderminster and Hinckley Town.

But in 2006 he collapsed on the pitch and died.

Matt is not alone, in the last year there have been 700 similar fatalities where someone young and fit dies, suddenly and without warning.

Tragic loss of life

The problem has been addressed head on in some countries.

For example in certain regions of Italy Electrocardiogram (ECG) screening is now mandatory in children from the age of 13 if they take part in sport.

And recent research, published in the British Medical Journal, shows that where screening is compulsory, it reduces the rate of sudden death in under 35s by up to 90%.

Tragic loss - John and Eve Linforth.

Such mandatory screening in young people is something that John and Eve Linforth are fully in favour of, having tragically lost three daughters to the syndrome.

Baby Amy died when she was just 8-weeks-old, of what the coroner termed Natural Causes.

Another daughter died at full term as Eve went into labour and eldest daughter Alison became a victim of sudden death syndrome, as she slumped against a friend at her desk.

It was her first day at Bourneville College and she was just 16-years-old.

However, the death of baby Amy occurred when she would have been too young for an ECG.

But a new technique being pioneered at Birmingham Women's Hospital, could help to identify problems in the very young.

Simple tests

Pulse Oxsimetry is a way of screening new born babies for congenital heart disease.

This new technique uses a simple device to measure the levels of oxygen in the baby's blood via a sensor put on both hand and foot.

Hope for the future - Dr Ewer.

Babies with low levels of oxygen will be identified as more at risk from heart problems.

Thousands of parents across the West Midlands have consented to their babies' being part of the trial, and so far the results are promising.

Dr Andrew Ewer hopes that this trial will show that screening babies for heart disease is feasible and acceptable to both parents and to staff.

He says, "The main thrust of the trial is to reduce the risk of babies dying, or becoming seriously unwell, from heart disease which is treatable.

"And that's, I hope, what we will show at the end of the study."

Family history

With a family history of this largely genetic condition, John and Eve's only surviving daughter, Gemma Linforth, has gone for an ECG at a screening day being held in memory of her sister.

"I truly believe that if she'd had the screening that I've had to today… I'd still have a sister.

The Linforths with daughter Gemma.

"I believe that screening like this will prevent many losses and stop families going through the heartbreak that our family went through."

For young people like Gemma, as well as babies, screening could mean the difference between preventative treatments or another sudden death.

John Linforth believes very strongly that early screening should be available to all youngsters, as standard:

"It's vital that we introduce screening in our schools; like they do in Italy… it's vital if we want to save young lives."

And the experts agree, the number of young sudden death victims could be drastically reduced, saving hundreds of lives a year.