A LOCAL charity will hold three free lectures later this year to help promote understanding of sudden heart deaths.

The lectures, which have just been announced, will take place in Leicester and Loughborough during SADS Week (1-8 October 2016), a key awareness-raising week organised by local charity the Joe Humphries Memorial Trust (JHMT), in conjunction with the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust.

SADS stands for sudden arrhythmic death syndrome, a deadly and often hidden heart condition. Twelve young people aged 12-35 years old in Britain die each week from undiagnosed heart problems like SADS.

On Wednesday 5 October, a lecture called 'Marvellous Medicine' will examine what skills it takes to save a life.

The lecture, at Leicester General Hospital, is open to the public and starts at 6pm.

It will explain what SADS is, and why speed matters when responding to someone who has collapsed in cardiac arrest.

It will demonstrate how public-access defibrillators can make a difference, and offer the audience the chance – if they wish – to acquire vital life-saving CPR skills, which take only two minutes to learn.

Dr Ffion Davies, medical advisor to the Joe Humphries Memorial Trust and consultant in A&E at University Hospitals of Leicester (UHL), is co-ordinating and will deliver the programme of lectures.

She said: "Each year, on the anniversary of Joe Humphries' untimely death, we hold the annual SADS Awareness Week where we remind and educate healthcare professionals, sports-related professionals and parents and carers of young people about the dangers of undiagnosed heart conditions like SADS.

"Year on year, we build on the awareness we raise of these undiagnosed heart conditions, so that Leicestershire is now at the forefront of CPR training.

"This year, we are delighted to be providing three talks to promote awareness. This first event, which we're holding in conjunction with Leicester's hospitals, will show what UHL already does in terms of this condition, and provide an opportunity for people to learn CPR skills."

On Thursday 6 October, Ffion will deliver a further lecture at Loughborough University, examining sudden cardiac death in sport.

The lecture, which starts at 6pm, will look at how SADS is relevant to sports activity and sports professionals, and will offer university staff, students and members of the public the chance to learn CPR skills.

And on Friday 7 October, there will be a talk for health professionals at Leicester Royal Infirmary, to increase their knowledge about SADS.

The talk – called the Friday Forum – starts at 1pm and asks the question: what have we been missing when it comes to SADS awareness?

Speakers alongside Ffion will include Dr Doug Skehan and Dr Bill Toff from Leicestershire Resuscitation Training Programme, plus Drs Pradeep Vasudevan and Riyaz Somani from UHL.

Martin Johnson, former England rugby captain and patron of the JHMT, said: "The work goes on to ensure as many people as is possible learn more about these deadly heart conditions, which can strike seemingly fit and healthy young people without any warning.

"That's why it's so important that sports club coaches – and anyone who works with young people undertaking physical activity – know the signs and symptoms to look out for.

"Training people so that they know what to do in a timeframe of a vital few minutes could mean the difference between life and death."

The 'Marvellous Medicine' and sudden cardiac death in sport lectures are free to attend and are open to all members of the public.

An online booking system is available for the sudden cardiac death in sport lecture. People can, if they wish, turn up on the night, but booking is recommended. To book online go to: https://www.jhmt.org.uk/sads-talk

To find out more about the JHMT and its work, visit www.jhmt.org.uk

You can also follow the Trust on Facebook and Twitter: www.facebook.com/jhmtorguk or @jhmt.org.uk