Sportsmen and women from around Enfield had the chance to be tested for hidden heart problems.

Enfield Ignations Rugby Club hosted 100 subsidised electro cardiogram (ECG) tests under the supervision of charity Cardiac Risk in The Young.

A total of 89 club members were tested at the club’s Donkey Lane headquarters on June 12, with the 11 remaining places allocated to Cardiac Risk in The Young.

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The charity works to reduce the frequency of young sudden cardiac death so the focus was on players between the ages of 14 and 35.

Club spokesman Martin Baker said: “We are determined to minimise the risks of this happening. Research reveals that around a dozen people aged 35 and below lose their lives to sudden cardiac death in the UK every week, although this figure could in fact be higher.

“Of these, a staggering 80 per cent had shown no previous sign of any heart defects until it was too late – which is why the CRY screening is so important.”

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Ignatians had hoped to roll this scheme out in 2020, having raised the necessary funds from the proceeds of the club’s Platinum Ball in 2019, until the pandemic put everything on hold.

Screening will not necessarily identify all those in the at-risk category.

A follow up screening within the next two years is also planned by the club.

However, studies in Italy, where screening is mandatory for all young people involved in organised sport has led to sudden cardiac death rates plummeting by 90 per cent.