The lecture was part of the University Hospitals of Leicester (UHL)'s monthly Marvellous Medicine series, and took place last night (5^th Oct) at Leicester General Hospital.

It was organised by local charity the Joe Humphries Memorial Trust (JHMT) as part of a week of activities to help promote better understanding of sudden heart deaths.

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

During the lecture, speaker Dr Ffion Davies explained what SADS is, and why acting fast is so vital when responding to someone who has collapsed in cardiac arrest.

Dr Davies, who is medical advisor to the Joe Humphries Memorial Trust and consultant in A&E at University Hospitals of Leicester, said: "It's fantastic that so many people came along to our first lecture during SADS Awareness Week, to learn more about why young people can die of a heart problem. We were delighted to see so many participating in the CPR training, and becoming competent within minutes.

"What we want to see is people who have suffered a cardiac arrest in Leicestershire arriving at hospital sitting up and looking well, because someone had the courage and the knowledge to do CPR, and get hold of a defibrillator within those precious minutes. The interest in this lecture shows that people want to know more about SADS and understand why CPR is so important".

The lecture was followed by a very well-attended CPR and defibrillator training session hosted by the JHMT.

SADS Awareness Week, which runs from 1-8 October, also includes two further free lectures. Tonight's (6 Oct), at Loughborough University, looks at sudden cardiac death in sport. It 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 at 1pm, to increase their knowledge about SADS.

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

You can also follow SADS Awareness Week events and activities on Facebook and Twitter: www.facebook.com/jhmtorguk or @jhmt.org.uk