'Incredible new test to spot heart issue could prevent sudden death in children'

Up to 1,000 children in the UK are living with a potentially fatal hereditary heart condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which causes thickening of the heart muscle. There’s currently no cure and, although rare, it can cause sudden death in children and young people. But now a new blood test that could identify children with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) has been developed at University College London and Great Ormond Street Hospital.

“The development of a simple blood test to both detect the disease and identify high-risk children with HCM, if confirmed and validated, could have a major impact on the care of children with this condition,” says Professor Juan Pablo Kaski, from UCL and GOSH. Research results show the new test, measuring seven proteins in the blood, can successfully act as a marker for HCM. The test can also identify four proteins that may indicate cases where there’s a greater risk of sudden death.

So it could be used across the NHS to speed up diagnosis and treatment for children. Professor Kaski explains: “Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is the most common cause of sudden death in children and teenagers. “We have made huge advances in the identification of children with HCM at risk of sudden cardiac death, but we are still looking for quicker and more accurate ways to do this.

” His collaborators include the research charities Action Medical Research and LifeArc. Dr Catriona Crombie at LifeArc says: “We have been working with Action M.