'We are working to make sure this never happens to another family': Family continue work to promote cardiac risk awareness among young people in Black Country

The Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) event at The Way Youth Zone in Wolverhampton on Saturday saw 100 young people aged between 14 and 35 undergo screenings to find out their cardiac health and, if necessary, be referred for further tests.

The charity has held 13 screening days at various venues across Wolverhampton since 2013, with more than 1,300 young people scanned and more than 80 referrals made,

It was also a day for the Nagra family to continue their work campaigning around the reality of sudden cardiac arrest, having lost their son and brother Pardeep in April 2008 at the age of just 26.

Mother Reshan, father Dalbag and brother Kulbir were all present at the screening day to chat with people and tell the story of Pardeep, with Kulbir saying they wanted to do whatever they could do to help the community.

He said: "Since we lost my brother in 2008, we've done numerous fundraising events, totalling up to more than £100,00 to date, which we then use to organise events such as this at the Youth Zone.

"Young people can come in and take the screening tests, which will look at whether there are any arrhythmia abnormalities and much more.

"We've heard of a lot of cases that have happened over the years, including a number of footballers and rugby players and that's why we need to just publicise the charity a bit more and make people aware."

Mr Nagra said that while the number of cases referred amounted to a drop in the ocean compared to how many cases there could be, it was important to promote the events and also honour his brother's memory.

He said: "Charity always becomes more personal when you lose some who you're quite close to and, at the time, we might not have known anything about the charity, but when it happened, my mum, dad and I got together and decided we wanted to make sure this didn't happen to anyone else.

"It was devastating for all of us as 26 is no age and no one should have go through this and we believe that prevention is better than the cure."

Wolverhampton North East MP Sureena Brackenridge was also in attendance and said her experiences of meeting the Nagra family had made her want to learn more about the work being done.

She said: "I spoke to the family previously and I've heard about the heartbreaking story about Pardeep's passing and it just brought to life how many people out there have got an undiagnosed critical heart disease and illness and, unfortunately, too many people find out when it's too late.

"Seeing the passion of the family and hearing their experiences and their stories will help some families out there to never go through this.

"I've walked in and found we've got people from different ages and backgrounds coming in to get a really important health checks and that's really good to see."

The Way Youth Zone has held several scanning events by CRY in the past and receptionist and Data lead Sarah Cornaby is someone who has felt the positive effects of the event, having taken a test in 2016 and finding out something she wasn't expecting.

She said: "When they came in 2016 to do the heart screening, a group of young people that I worked with didn't want to go and get their heart screened, so I jumped at the opportunity, as I was in the age bracket at the time, but then found I had a heart condition.

"It was a shock at the time, but I don't feel it affects me currently, although it may do so in later life, and I just found out my dad has had a pacemaker fitted, so there's a chance it could be hereditary.

"My daughter came and found out she hasn't actually got a heart condition luckily, and I can say the work being done is amazing as it brings so many people into our centre and helps to support them."