• Gerald Jones, MP for Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney, pledges support for a national strategy to prevent Young Sudden Cardiac Death
• Every week 12 young people in the UK die of undiagnosed heart conditions
• Gerald Jones joins over 100 MPs from all parties in calling for a national strategy to prevent Young Sudden Cardiac Death and save young lives
• UK healthcare policy reports show that the number of Young Sudden Cardiac Deaths is ‘significantly under reported’

Gerald Jones, MP for Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney, has joined MPs from all parties in calling for a national strategy to prevent Young Sudden Cardiac Death (YSCD), following the news that 12 young people every week in the UK die from undiagnosed heart conditions.

Current UK healthcare policy to prevent YSCD is informed by various guidelines and recommendations. However, the current guidelines are contradictory and based on inconsistent assessments of the incidence, methods of diagnosis and management of cardiac conditions in young people.

Now, MPs are pledging to support a national strategy to ensure that the guidelines and policies to prevent YSCD are consistent.

Gerald Jones MP said: “I am pledging to support a national strategy for the Prevention of Young Sudden Cardiac Death to help save the lives of the 12 apparently fit and healthy young people who die every week in the UK of undiagnosed cardiac conditions.

The first stage of a national strategy should be to correctly acknowledge the incidence of these deaths, and cardiac arrest deaths in the young are not comparable to heart attacks in the elderly.”