MANCHESTER — Findings from a decade of Cardiac Risk in the Young's voluntary heart screening service have revealed that 175 out of nearly 40,000 UK women aged 14 to 35 had undiagnosed heart conditions, with 94 of those cases classified as high risk for sudden cardiac death. The data are being presented at the British Cardiovascular Society’s annual meeting in Manchester.

The UK National Screening Committee is currently reviewing whether all individuals over the age of 14 should be screened for conditions linked to sudden cardiac death, with a public consultation on expanding screening planned, though no date has been set. The NHS already provides free heart checks to family members when a hereditary heart condition is suspected.

Kaitlin Lawrence, a 24-year-old from Surrey, collapsed during a netball league match and was later diagnosed with a heart rhythm disorder. “Then a few seconds later I just passed out on the sideline,” Lawrence said. “My teammates say they couldn't revive me and my lips were going blue, although I was still breathing.”

Lawrence has since received an implanted defibrillator that has delivered life-saving shocks twice, including once in February. “I'm lucky I didn't die,” she said.

In the broader screening review, 92 heart issues in girls and women were initially missed, including 28 classified as fairly major. In the UK, sudden cardiac death claims the lives of 12 people under age 35 each week. Many affected individuals show no symptoms and appear fully fit, yet routine activities such as walking into a cold shower or playing sports can trigger a fatal event. Some sudden cardiac deaths are misclassified as asthma, epilepsy, or drowning, and post-mortem investigations often reveal inherited structural or electrical heart problems.