THE Mater Hospital is to open a clinic next month with screening facilities for families who have lost a teenager or young adult to sudden cardiac death.

Relatives of victims currently face a 10-month wait for tests to find out if they are at risk from an undiagnosed heart condition.

Dr Joe Galvin, a consultant cardiologist at the Mater, said the new clinic should cut the waiting list. “Our equipment arrived yesterday and we hope to see patients the week after next,” he said.

The Mater is spending €400,000 on the clinic, paid for by fundraising.

Families are currently screen- ed at the James Connolly hospital in Blanchardstown, where the service is offered through the cardiology department. The Mater clinic will be the first specialist screening centre in Ireland.

A clinic is also planned for Tallaght hospital.

Experts estimate one person aged less than 35 dies in Ireland every week from sudden cardiac death. If an autopsy discovers that a dead person had an undetected heart muscle disorder, the rest of the family can be screened to determine if the abnormalities are genetic.

But, according to Cardiac Risk in the Young, a British-based charity, at least one in 20 such deaths remains a mystery and becomes classified as sudden adult death syndrome.

Dr Brian Maurer, medical director of the Irish Heart Foundation, said the new clinic at the Mater was a good start in the move towards increased family screening. “I hope it’s just the beginning of rolling out a service for people across the country,” he said.

About 5,000 people die from heart attacks in Ireland each year. Of the fatal heart attacks suffered by under-35s, Dr Maurer estimated that less than half occurred during participation in sport.

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