Scotland's first cardiac assessment programme for young amateur athletes was officially launched today at Hampden Park by Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon.

Based at the National Stadium's Sports Medicine Centre, the Cardiac Assessment in Young Athletes (CAYA) pilot programme will offer cardiovascular screening on a voluntary basis to young Scots over the age of 16 who take part in any organised amateur sports.

The #200,000 CAYA programme will use ECG and ultrasound screening to identify whether the athletes being tested are at increased risk of Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD). The two-year pilot is a joint project between the Scottish Government, the Scottish Football Association and the University of Glasgow. Just two other countries currently offer such a programme.

Ms Sturgeon said:

"Although Sudden Cardiac Death is very rare, it robs us of seemingly healthy young people with their whole lives ahead of them. The loss of each of these lives is a tragedy.

"Many professional athletes can be screened by their sporting bodies - indeed, professional footballers in the SPL already have checks every year.

"But until now there has been no opportunity for young Scots who participate in organised amateur sports to have access to appropriate testing.

"The launch today of the CAYA pilot means that young Scots will soon be able to take part in sport with a greater degree of safety than in the past - and help avoid the tragedy of further preventable deaths."

Professor Stewart Hillis, Director of the Sports Medicine Centre and Professor of Cardiovascular and Exercise Medicine at the University of Glasgow, said:

"Any young person's death is a tragedy, but it can be even more difficult to accept when that person seems fit and is even taking part in healthy pursuits.

"In addition to offering voluntary cardiovascular screening to our young athletes, this project will also be an important source of research data to help develop future expertise.

"Screening has been shown to be effective abroad, and our new CAYA pilot will build on the good practice that already exists by building a unique, tailored service for Scotland."

Scottish FA Chief Executive Gordon Smith said:

"The Scottish FA is delighted to be working with the Scottish Government on this hugely important scheme. Sudden Cardiac Death is thankfully very rare, but that does not mean that we should not do everything in our power to prevent it.

"Our young sportsmen and women are a credit to their country. It is absolutely right that we do everything we can to look after their health."

NOTES FOR NEWS EDITORS

1. Pre-participation assessment programmes are already offered in the USA and in parts of Italy. Scotland's CAYA pilot, which will offer voluntary access to testing, will be the first to screen with both ECG and ultrasound. Research on the effectiveness of using both methods will form part of the evaluation of the pilot.

2. Most instances of SCD in athletes under 35 are related to inherited cardiomyopathies and arrhythmias, for which there are specialist services already existing within the NHS. Anyone found, through screening, to be at greater risk will be referred for further investigation and/or treatment.

3. Appropriate counselling will be offered to all candidates to ensure informed consent for screening.

4. The screening service will be offered to the Scottish Institute for Sport, regional institutes of sport and governing bodies of sport. The objective of the programme is to provide access to cardiological testing for young Scottish sports participants age 16 and over.

5. People participating in sports can be at higher risk of SCD because of pre-existing cardiovascular conditions which can be exacerbated when challenged by high intensity activity.

6. The evidence gathered from this programme will inform decisions about future national screening programmes across the UK.

This article was posted on 13-Aug-2008, 10:42 by Hugh Barrow.