A pioneering screening programme to identify undiagnosed heart conditions in the young is returning to Sutton Coldfield next month thanks to continued fundraising by Wylde Green Rotary Club.
Run by CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young), the project is particularly personal to the Club’s President Paul Lane, from Lichfield, whose son Anthony died suddenly of cardiac arrest aged just 26.
The screening day, hosted by Sutton Coldfield Town FC on Sunday (June 14th), is the third in what it is hoped will be of many for the area, thanks to Rotary grants and fundraising campaigns headed up by Paul.
The first screening in 2024 tested 103 young people, three of whom were referred for further tests so potentially already saving three lives.
CRY, which has again been adopted as the Wylde Green Rotary Club Charity of the Year, works to prevent young sudden cardiac deaths through awareness, screening and research and supporting affected families – something for which past president Paul Lane and his family have been very grateful.
Paul said: “One Saturday morning in October 2022 Anthony was on his turbo trainer bike at home, exercising alone. His partner returned home after shopping to find him unresponsive on the floor. West Midlands Ambulance Service and the Air Ambulance attended but unfortunately Anthony had already passed away.
“It is believed that Anthony had an undiagnosed heart condition, from which he had no symptoms. This led us to CRY and we learned more about the research they’re doing and their lobbying of politicians to try and get the UK government to test young people between the ages of 14 and 34.
“It is likely that Anthony’s heart ‘short-circuited’ and went into a lethal arrhythmia called ventricular fibrillation that causes sudden cardiac death if not treated immediately with CPR and defibrillation.”
Paul, who has been a Rotarian for more than 20 years, added: “They say events happen for a reason and Anthony’s passing away and our work with CRY has given us the ability to organise the screening session, which we’re hoping we can do long term, and at the end of that people will hopefully start to associate Rotary with something different and we may have saved a young person’s life.
“We are very grateful for all the fund-raising support we have received from Rotary, Sutton Coldfield Charitable Trust and Anthony’s friends, colleagues and family, without whose help the project would not be possible.
“It’s also great to see the two screening days in Uttoxeter as Anthony went to school there and I was a member of the Uttoxeter Rotary club for 16 years, so I am delighted that Past President Jerry Gear and the members of Uttoxeter Rotary Club have raised sufficient funds for the screenings, on June 6th and 7th.
“I hope that in the future more Rotary Clubs will hear of Anthony’s story and hold screening sessions.”
Including the CRY screenings this year, in total the Rotary Club will have funded seven days in Ant’s memory; something of which his family knows Anthony would be very proud, especially because in March this year he would have turned 30.
Every week in the UK, around 12 young people, between ages of 14 and 35, die suddenly from a previously undiagnosed heart condition. 80% of these deaths will occur with no prior symptoms.
CRY uses a very simple, effective and non-invasive way of diagnosing most cardiac abnormalities. It is a quick, painless and affordable procedure called an electrocardiogram (ECG), which is reviewed by a specially trained medic. If a young person is found to have an abnormality, CRY will also swiftly refer them for Echocardiogram screening (ultrasound) and ongoing, more in-depth investigations, as necessary.
Dr Steven Cox, CEO of Cardiac Risk in the Young, said: “It’s an absolute honour for CRY to be chosen again as the Wylde Green Rotary Club’s Charity of the Year. It’s wonderful to see the impact that Paul’s remarkable efforts to raise awareness and funds in memory of his son Anthony Lane continues to have in the local community and beyond. Hosting a screening event in June will offer at least another 100 young people the opportunity to have their heart tested and help us in one of the charity’s defining aims to identify more young people who may be at risk of ‘hidden heart conditions’ and ensure they are referred for appropriate investigations and treatment pathways.
“For the seemingly fit and healthy young people (aged 35 and under) who die suddenly from a previously undiagnosed heart condition, 80% will have had no warning signs, until it was too late – which is why CRY believes proactive cardiac screening amongst asymptomatic young people is so vitally important. One in every 300 people of those tested by CRY will be identified with a potentially life-threatening condition. So, campaigns like these really do save lives.”
There is enough money to fund a further 6 annual screening sessions in the town each at a cost of £7,000, in part thanks to Sutton Coldfield Charitable Trust who have pledged £19,500 over three years.
The Rotary club has raised £7,000 and as CRY will be one of the President’s nominated charities for 2025/26, this is set to further increase. The annual memorial Mercedes event organised by Anthony’s colleagues from Brixworth raised £3,100; together with and charity runners and cyclists adding a further £3,000 to the coffers.
The screening session will again be supported on the day by Rotarians and volunteers and attended by Anthony’s friends and family as well as Sutton Coldfield MP Sir Andrew Mitchell and the local Mayor.
A talented mechanical engineer, Anthony was proud to land his dream job within the Formula One industry at Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains in Northamptonshire, after graduating from Birmingham University in 2019. He was Technical Director for the University of Birmingham Racing (UBR) Team that competes at Silverstone each year. That year the Team came second, to-date the best results the Team have gained in its 26-year history in the international, yearly competition.
Last year the university’s Mechanical Engineering department held a memorial for Anthony and Paul and Penny recently unveiled a plaque renaming the university workshops as the Anthony Lane Memorial Workshop.
Colleagues at Mercedes at Brixworth have dedicated an annual Karting Cup to Anthony’s memory. It is presented by Paul and his wife Penny and raises money for Anthony’s Memorial Fund. In a special memorial tribute, his name was added to the nose cone of drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell’s cars in the 2022 F1 Mexican Grand Prix.
Paul, who now lives in Lichfield, said: “Anthony was a perfectly healthy young person who, like all young people, didn’t go to the doctor and who thought he was invincible. One minute he was perfectly fit on his turbo trainer, the next minute he’s gone.
“It is so tragic that this happened but we like to think of this project as a lasting memorial to him.”
Meanwhile a date has already also been set for the fourth screening day in Sutton Coldfield, on 13th June 2027, as well as a possible extra screening day in Uttoxeter where Anthony used to go to school.
To register to attend, between 9am-4pm, visit: https://www.testmyheart.org.uk/events/sutton-coldfield-west-midlands/ and enter the password BlowTorch