Let's talk about Sudden Adult Death Syndrome aka SADS

Adolf Hipster

Mollikins wrote: »

I would post this in the Soccer forum but I don’t have access and After Hours gets a lot more traffic anyway. Besides, this condition doesn’t just affect sportspeople, it just appears to be more prominent in them as it is through exercise and activity that the heart is made work hard and problems come to light.

What happened to Fabrice Muamba yesterday was horrific and nobody wants to see it happen again so I just want to throw out a few links that might help people understand it better and also enable them to do their bit, if they wish. SADS or Sudden Adult Death Syndrome has affected my family (A 15 year old family member died in his sleep) so I try my best to educate others about it. Since Cormac McAnallen died, a lot of work has been done to get defibrillators in public places, GAA clubs and schools and also to teach people about CPR but there is lots you can do to help without having to go run a marathon or trek up a mountain to raise money.

http://www.fones4life.ie/runs a great initiative. Just 250 old mobiles can get you a defibrillator and 360 mobiles will get you either a heated outdoor cabinet for the AED or training for 6 people on how to use it, provided by the Irish Heart Foundation. Just click on the ‘How it works’ tab for more information. Everyone has a few old mobiles littered around the house. Just collecting them up and throwing them in a box in your workplace, local community hall or your child’s school can make such a difference. A few primary schools in my area all have AEDs now because of this excellent initiative.

http://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-football/living-to-tell-a-tale-of-luck-and-quick-thinking-2474242.html This is an article from December 2010 about a young man called Seaghan Kearney who collapsed while playing 5 a side soccer and how being in the right place at the right time saved him. He is doing a lot of work with The Mater Foundation trying to raise awareness. There was an article in one of the Sunday papers a few weeks ago about him. I can’t find it online but I do remember from it that the guy who saved him is going to be his best man at his wedding this summer. There is also a video of him talking about that day and even footage from the halls camera on the website set up by Cormac McAnallen’s family. http://www.thecormactrust.com/saved-from-sudden-cardiac-death/ That website has loads of information too and also a tab with profiles and pictures of all the young people SADS has taken. It’s very sad to read all the stories but seeing how it has affected other families might just make a difference.

http://www.cry.ie/ Cardiac Risk in the Young is another website which aims to raise awareness and to fundraise for defibrillators. They also provide support to families that have lost someone due to SADS.

I briefly mentioned The Mater Foundation already but it really deserves more attention. My entire family has attended the Heart House and undergone various tests with the Family Screening Clinic. All of the tests you need to have done are completed on the same day so there is no waiting for appointments for different tests and repeat visits.

It’s worth mentioning that some heart conditions don’t show up on ECGs. This was the case for another relative of mine who now has a pacemaker fitted, so it is very important if there is a history of sudden cardiac death in the family that you get tested properly. Just ask your GP for a referral to the Heart House. The service is free, they get no funding from the government at all at the moment and it runs entirely on donations. They run a Heart Appeal every February, selling heart pins for just €2. There is more information on http://www.sads.ie/index.html and http://www.materfoundation.ie/heart-appeal.html

A simple Google search will reveal loads of companies that do CPR and AED courses. With most companies, if you can get your place of work to send a group of people or if you can get a group together yourself you will get a discount. Even if you can’t afford to do a First Aid course you probably know someone who has done one or someone who works in the medical field. Ask them what you should do. It will only take a few minutes but can make all the difference in the world. For every minute after collapse without CPR or defibrillation the chance of survival decreases by 7 to 10 per cent per minute. If a stranger or a loved one collapses, the last thing you want is to end up just standing there, powerless and unable to help.

It’s Paddy’s Day weekend and everyone is out having a drink. You’re entitled to enjoy yourself because you work hard for your money but please consider donating even a small amount of the money you would spend on alcohol to a service such as that provided by the Heart House. You never know when you might need them yourself.

If anyone has any more information please feel free to post below.

Thanks for reading.

Thought this post deserved to be up here, as I'm sure there's alot of people that hadn't seen it, including myself.


Original thread here

killwill

I am off work until next Thursday but when i get back i am putting my name forward for the emergency response team and getting AED training.
Seeing what happened Fabrice Muamba have actually opened my eyes to the fact it could happen any of us at any time. Scary.