Family of runner who died are helping save lives

Two women and a man are stood together in front of a red wall. They are all smiling and wearing white T-shirts that display a Cardiac Risk in the Young logo. The first woman, on the left of the picture, has short blonde hair and a pair of glasses on top of her head, the second woman, in the centre of the picture has long blonde hair and a T-shirt that also displays the words: Heart of London Bridges Walk. The man on the right of the picture has short grey hair and is wearing glasses.

From left, Tracey, Fiona and Roy Harper, who work alongside Cardiac Risk in the Young charity

Charlotte Henderson & Holly Phillips
BBC News

The family of a 26-year-old man who died while taking part in last year's Great Bristol Run has said cardiac screenings for young people are "incredibly important".

Mike Harper, who grew up in Lincoln, died on 19 May 2024 after collapsing during the race from a cardiac arrest.

His family have been supporting Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) charity, which earlier this week hosted 200 free cardiac screenings for people aged 14-35 at Bishop Grosseteste University.

His father, Roy Harper, 62, who described his son as a fit and kind young man, living his best life, said: "Our passion is to make sure other people locally and nationally are aware, so they aren't in the situation we had."

Mike's sister, Fiona, 24, said they discovered CRY, which offers subsidised electrocardiogram and echocardiogram screenings to young people, shortly after her brother's death.

She said that the charity had helped members of the Harper family to undergo heart screenings as "reassurance".

A head and shoulders shot of a man smiling at the camera wearing a navy T-shirt with a design on. He has short brown hair. Behind him is a river, boats and buildings in the distance. The sky is blue.Family handout

Mike Harper died at the age of 26 while taking part in last year's Great Bristol Run

According to the charity, 12 "fit and healthy" young people in the UK die suddenly from a previously undiagnosed heart condition each week.

In 80% of these cases, there will have been no signs or symptoms of a heart defect until it was too late, the charity said.

Dr Dimitra Maritsa, who was involved in CRY's cardiac screening sessions at the university, said the lack of symptoms in some young people made testing "essential".

"With this information, we are able to identify young individuals - unfortunately not all, but a very high proportion - that have an undiagnosed heart condition," Dr Maritsa added.

A head and shoulders shot of a woman smiling at the camera. She has long brown hair tied back in a ponytail and is wearing a floral dress and a red lanyard. She is sat in a room painted a light blue with large windows and blinds.

Dr Dimitra Maritsa helped carry out the screenings at Bishop Grosseteste University

Fiona added: "If we can get one person screened, then we are better off than we were."

CRY currently screens approximately 27,000 young people each year, with charities providing access.

Mike's mum, Tracey, 59, said: "There are too many young people dying. They need to be screened and it has to be on the NHS."

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