A PIONEERING screening programme to identify heart conditions in the young – set up in memory of a talented Rugby man who died suddenly due to an undiagnosed condition – is being rolled out again.
Anthony Lane died in 2022 at the age of just 26 when he suffered a cardiac arrest while exercising.
Now his dad Paul is putting on the second cardiac screening day in his son’s memory, after last year’s event potentially saved three lives by identifying potential heart conditions.
Paul, the President of Wylde Green Rotary Club in Sutton Coldfield, has secured Rotary grants and headed up money-raising campaigns to fund the initiative which is so close to his heart.
Anthony’s friend Charlie Hodgson gets screened at last year’s event.
He said: “One Saturday morning, Anthony was on his turbo trainer bike at home, exercising alone. His partner returned home after shopping to find him unresponsive on the floor. West Midlands Ambulance Service and the Air Ambulance attended but unfortunately Anthony had already passed away.
“It is believed Anthony had an undiagnosed heart condition from which he had no symptoms. It is likely that Anthony’s heart ‘short-circuited’ and went into a lethal arrhythmia called ventricular fibrillation that causes sudden cardiac death if not treated immediately with CPR and defibrillation.”
Anthony was a talented mechanical engineer who landed his dream job at Mercedes F1 in Northamptonshire.
His death led his family to the Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) charity, which works to prevent young sudden cardiac deaths through awareness, screening and research, and which supports affected families.
Paul added: “They say events happen for a reason, and Anthony’s passing away and our work with CRY has given us the ability to organise the screening session, which we’re hoping we can do long term, and at the end of that we may have saved a young person’s life.”
The screening day at Sutton Coldfield Town FC – which will be attended by Anthony’s friends and family – takes place on June 29, with plans afoot for a possible extra screening day in Rugby.
CRY CEO Dr Steven Cox said: “It’s great news that our screening team will be returning to Sutton Coldfield to test the hearts of at least 100 more young people from the local area, in memory of Anthony Lane.
“I know that through this ongoing collaboration we will be able to identify more young people who may be at risk of ‘hidden’ heart conditions and ensure they are referred for appropriate investigations and treatment pathways.”
Paul, who now lives in Lichfield, said: “Anthony was a perfectly healthy young person who, like all young people, didn’t go to the doctor and who thought he was invincible. One minute he was perfectly fit on his turbo trainer, the next minute he’s gone.
“It is so tragic that this happened but we like to think of this project as a lasting memorial to him.”
