Woman, 24, found heart hole during free cardiac screening

Georgia Guy, 24, was unaware of a hole in her heart until it was spotted during a free cardiac screening event

A mother-of-two says free cardiac screening funded by the parents of a man who died from an undiagnosed heart condition has "saved her life".

Georgia Guy, 24, was unaware of a hole in her heart until it was spotted during the screening event last month.

Gill and Steve Ayling fundraised for and organised the Scunthorpe sessions following the death of Mrs Ayling's 31-year-old son, Nathan Bryan, in 2019.

Free health checks are available on the NHS for anyone aged between 40 and 74.

Nathan Bryan, 31, died from an undiagnosed heart condition in February 2019

About 200 people aged under 35, who did not have a diagnosed heart condition, attended the free two-day free event with about a dozen being identified as having a cardiac issue.

Among them was Ms Guy, a mother-of-two from Scunthorpe.

She said she had no idea of any pre-existing heart conditions until the screening where she was told she had a hole in her heart "and it's leaking blood".

"I was just speechless, I just started crying," she said.

"I've got two very young kids so if I didn't have this done they'd be left without a mother. So it was a bit crazy really.

"Gill and Steve basically did save my life."

Ms Guy said she was now waiting for a referral to Leeds for surgery.

Gill Ayling found her son dead in his bedroom

The Aylings, who set up the screening sessions with help of the Cardiac Risk in the Young charity, have campaigned to make heart screenings free to all.

Mrs Ayling said she found her son dead in his bedroom when she visited him at his home in February 2019.

She said he had an undiagnosed cardiac condition and, since his death, the family had fundraised to provide screening in their area.

"We know there's a way to prevent this for other families," said Mr Ayling.

He said about 12 "apparently fit and healthy young people" were dying from undiagnosed cardiac conditions every week in the UK.

"We believe, Gill and I, that the government should provide mandatory screening [to youngsters]," he said.

The government said there was insufficient evidence to screen everyone under the age of 40.

Steve Ayling said free cardiac screenings should be available for all ages

The Department of Health and Social Care said the unexpected death of any young person was "a tragedy".

"The UK National Screening Committee reviewed screening young people for sudden cardiac death in 2019. They found there was insufficient evidence to support the introduction of whole population screening in the UK," a spokesperson added.

"However, this issue is kept under review."