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A new dedicated unit will offer potentially life-saving screening for families affected by sudden cardiac death.
Peter Greene was an active, sporty teenager. So when he died suddenly at the age of 15, his family’s shock and grief were especially intense.
“We lost our son 10 years ago to sudden cardiac death,” explains Peter’s father, Michael.
“There was [...]

The family of the Armagh schoolboy John McCall – who died as a result of a heart defect while playing rugby in 2004 – are advising all parents to have their children screened. Ian McCall this week told the Gazette that a new clinic – just launched at the University of Ulster in Jordanstown – [...]

A life-saving defibrillator will be located at the Burnavon Arts & Cultural Centre in Cookstown as part of an initiative to help save the lives of heart attack victims.
A further defibrillator will be located at the Mid-Ulster Sports Arena in the town.
The Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) have been supplied by the Cormac Trust which was [...]

Padua, Italy – The introduction of a nationwide preparticipation screening program including ECGs for young athletes in Italy has led to an almost 90% drop in sudden cardiac deaths in one region of the country. Dr Domenico Corrado (University of Padua Medical School, Italy) and colleagues report their findings in the October 4, 2006 issue [...]

By Rick Sadowski, Rocky Mountain News
September 30, 2006
CENTENNIAL – Few in the NHL played with as much heart as Steve Konowalchuk, making the reason he is giving up the game at age 33 so painfully ironic.
Diagnosed with long QT syndrome, a rare hereditary disorder of the heart’s electrical system, the Avalanche forward Friday announced his [...]

A Heart for Sports (AFHS) announced today that it is working with Royal Philips to conduct a cardiac screening event at Loyola Marymount University (LMU), Los Angeles, that includes both electrocardiogram (ECG) and echocardiogram (ultrasound of the heart) exams. During the event, Philips and AHFS aim to educate LMUs NCAA Division I student athletes, athletic [...]

Jolted last fall by the death of one player and stung by the controversy surrounding another, the National Basketball Association is for the first time requiring standardized cardiac screening for every player.
The new rules, developed over the past year, were sent to teams this summer but were not publicized. The move is viewed as a [...]

CUMBERLAND — More than four years later, the parents of a 16-year-old Beall High School student who died after she suddenly collapsed in the classroom each were awarded $300,000 Friday in Allegany County Circuit Court.
Cora J. Houdersheldt and David Sines were represented by Cumberland attorneys Jason C. Buckel and S. Ramani Pillai in a jury [...]

The fact that Allison Parker is living, breathing and walking the campus of Ithaca College is no less than miraculous.
Twice this 18-year-old from Penfield has been hit by the lightning bolt of misfortune. Twice her heart has stopped beating, and twice someone with medical training has been there to bring her back from the grip [...]

A Limerick Hurler has died from Sudden Adult Death Syndrome it is being reported this morning.
Willie O’Brien (28) who played for Knockainey was found dead on Saturday morning at his home in the county. He had gone to bed early the previous night after returning home from training. He was due to be involved in [...]

THE medical profession and sporting/voluntary bodies are in unison believing that ready access to a defibrillator could be a life source.
Towards that objective, I recently proposed a notice of motion to Kerry County Council calling on the government to waive or absorb the 21 per cent VAT on the life-saving machines.
The response from the Department [...]

An 18-year-old youth has died while playing a hurling match for his club in Cork.
Liam O Regan collapsed and died as he cleared a ball ten minutes into the second half of the game at Waterfall on the outskirts of the city last night.
The teenager was playing for his club Ballinora in a mid-Cork minor [...]

A HEARTBROKEN mother who lost her only son to sudden adult death syndrome (Sads) on his 18th birthday has welcomed the creation of a new specialist post to tackle the condition.
Portadown woman Catherine Lyness discovered that her son Stephen had died in his sleep on the morning of his birthday on December 20 2004.
A healthy, [...]

TYRONE manager Mickey Harte yesterday launched the website of the Cormac Trust, which raises awareness of sudden cardiac death in the young.
The trust was set up after the death of former Tyrone captain Cormac McAnallen (24) from an undetected heart condition two years ago.
The trust has provided life-saving defibrillators in communities in the north west [...]

A substantial number of young adults, suspected of being predisposed to a heart disorder that is a leading cause of sudden death, are testing positive for the condition following MRI screening.
Concern about sudden cardiac death has been heightened in recent years, following a number of high-profile cases in young sportsmen such as the late Tyrone [...]

Edendork GAC raises money for The Cormac Trust. Chairman Paul Mallon presents Cormac Trustee Paul Doris with a cheque for £1000, also pictured are John Nelis, event organiser, Declan Cullen PRO and Liam Nelis. The money was raised through a Past Masters football match against Armagh Harps.Picture Michael Cullen.

Pictured at the launch of the Edendork [...]

Lives are being saved by putting electric shock ma-chines in public places, re-searchers have said.

More defibrillators are now being put in public places such as airports, shopping centres and sports grounds, to be used by trained volunteers in the event of someone collapsing with cardiac arrest.

Defibrillators in the Community; text of a speech given by Liam Nelis to an audience in the Rosses Community School, Dungloe, Co. Donegal on Thursday 18th May 2006 at a Concert in aid of Fundraising for the purchase of a defibrillator for the school and the community in the Rosses
Cormac Mc Anallen died on Tuesday [...]

Health-club chain LA Fitness must pay $619,650 to the family of a Fort Lauderdale man who died of sudden cardiac arrest while working out at an Oakland Park gym, a Broward Circuit Court jury ordered Wednesday.
The jury needed only two hours of deliberations to find that LA Fitness’ negligence contributed to Alessio Tringali’s death. No [...]

The Cormac Trust was set up to honour the memory of Cormac McAnallen and since last June the Trust has been mainly involved in placing defibrillators in our local communities through our sports clubs. By Wednesday of this week, it will have placed 47 defibrillators in local communities in Tyrone and trained almost 300 volunteers [...]

Martin McGrath, the Fermanagh All-Star, will undergo laser heart surgery at Dublin’s Mater Hospital tomorrow for the second time in less than two months, to correct a problem that at one time was thought to be bronchitis-related.
The 24-year-old underwent surgery in February to burn excess tissue from around his heart, but was warned that a [...]

Two years after Cormac McAnallen’s untimely death at the age of 24, a new report has recommended that any young person engaging in sport should be assessed for the risks of sudden cardiac death.
The report launched by the Tánaiste and Health Minister Mary Harney also recommends that defibrillators be rolled out at major public centres [...]

ACCESS to vital life-saving equipment is “a post code lottery” claimed the mother of the former Tyrone Gaelic football captain, Cormac McAnallen.
Bridget McAnallen was speaking at the publication of a report on sudden cardiac death which coincided with the second anniversary of her son’s death. She said screening of young people participating in sport was [...]

THE mother of Tyrone GAA star Cormac McAnallen, who died suddenly of an undetected heart condition two years ago today, has said there remains much to be done to help prevent other deaths.
Brigid McAnallen was speaking ahead of the launch of a report by an Irish government taskforce on sudden cardiac death, also taking place [...]

The organisers of the recent quiz in aid of The Cormac Trust would like to thank the following for their help and sponsorship:
John Donaghy, [...]

A nurse specialising in sudden heart deaths is to take up an appointment at Ulster’s biggest hospital within the next few months.
The Belfast Telegraph recently revealed that the Cardiomyopathy Association-supplied post had been turned down at the Royal because of a funding row.
But hours after our story appeared, Department of Health chiefs stepped in. Health [...]

Ulster families affected by a killer heart condition that strikes without warning are demanding the introduction of a special screening programme for young people across the province.
And in a poignant plea to Health Minister Shaun Woodward they said: “Please don’t let any more of Northern Ireland’s young people die.” But health chiefs say they have [...]

The parents of GAA football legend Cormac McAnallen whose sudden death devastated the nation are fighting to save the lives of other young people prone to fatal cardiac arrest.His father Brendan said he still feels he was robbed of something in March 2004 when his son died in his sleep from a genetic heart condition [...]

Mrs. Iris Robinson:   To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many trained first responders there are in each district council area in the Province. [49318]
Mr. Woodward: Information on the number and distribution of trained first responders is not held centrally. However, the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) is aware of the schemes [...]

THE CORMAC Trust, set up in memory of former Tyrone captain Cormac McAnallen who died of a rare heart infection two years ago, is helping to give primary school children lifesaving medical know-how.
Seventy-six primary schools in the Western Education and Library Board (WELB) area are being equipped to teach basic life support skills to primary [...]

Basic Life Support for Schools
Northern Ireland has the highest incidence of heart disease in Europe. 1 in 3 men and 1 in 4 women will die as a result of this condition. Every year in Northern Ireland 6,000 people suffer heart attacks resulting in 3,000 deaths. 2,000 of these heart attacks occur suddenly and without [...]

It’s not often that you get to meet David Beckham or Fabien Barthez during a normal working day but Martin McCrory has had the pleasure of both their company. The Glenelly man met the two footballing superstars while working for the Adidas Sports Centre in England. It’s a hard job but somebody had to do [...]

On 6th December 2005 a debate took place on the need for a ‘Good Samaritan’ Bill, to protect from penalty those who come to the aid of another in an emergency.
The following speech was made by Fine Gael Defence Spokesman Billy Timmins TD, in proposing such a bill in Dáil Éireann on Tuesday 6th December [...]

The death of Cormac McAnallen in March 2004 highlighted the desirability of having all sports people medically screened.
It used to be thought that such young, fit people were free from health risks but cases such as Cormac’s have recently forced a re-think on this issue.
When the news broke recently that the young Kilkenny hurler Conor [...]

A sombre Mike Nolan pieced together the last moments of Thomas Herrion’s life and recounted the aftermath of his death at a news conference in front of the 49ers’ Santa Clara facility Sunday.
Herrion, a first-year player from Utah, collapsed in the locker room Saturday night following the 49ers’ 26-21 exhibition loss to the Broncos in [...]

FORMER students of the late Tyrone GAA star Cormac McAnallen are to play the students of his fiancee in the second annual challenge match in his memory.

President pays tribute to ‘true leader’ Cormac
A glowing tribute has been paid to the “exemplary leadership” of Eglish GAA star Cormac McAnallen by the Irish President. Mary McAleese was speaking as she delivered the inaugural Cormac McAnallen Leadership Lecture at St Catherine’s College in Armagh, where the All-Star used to teach.The President said everyone could [...]

One year since the sudden and tragic death of Tyrone captain Cormac McAnallen,
Darran McCann reports on how the McAnallen family have tried to channel their grief in raising awareness of Cormac’s condition
THE family of Cormac McAnallen have spoken of how much he is missed but also their “sense of mission” in raising awareness of cardiac [...]

Cormac Trust Dinner ‘fantastic success – and very moving’ for Tyrone star’s family
THE Gala Dinner held by the Cormac Trust last Friday night raised an unbelievable total of £140,000, which Bridget McAnallen pledges will be used to continue to increase awareness of the rare heart condition which tragically killed her son last year.
Touched by the [...]

Almost 700 guests, including many leading personalities from rugby, soccer and gaelic games, gathered at the Club Tyrone auction/banquet at the Armagh City hotel and helped raise over £140,000 for the Cormac Trust. Table receipts are set to swell that figure even further, possibly up to £200,000. GAA president Sean Kelly (above) secured a magnificent [...]

A Fundraising banquet for the Cormac Trust being set up in memory of the late Cormac McAnallen has been sold out less than a week after its official launch with the Trust fund standing to generate in the region of £50,000 of proceeds from the event.
More than 60 tables for the event in the Armagh [...]

Ashlene Moore, fiancee of the late Tyrone GAA star Cormac McAnallen, will begin a month-long charity mission to India tomorrow – exactly one year after her engagement.
Mr McAnallen (24), an All-Ireland winner in 2003, died suddenly at his Eglish home from a rare viral infection of the heart in March. The couple were due to [...]

The initial fundraising banquet for the Cormac Trust, set up in memory of the late Cormac McAnallen, has sold out less than a week after its official launch, with the Trust fund standing to generate in the region of £50,000 of proceeds from the event.
More than 60 tables for the event in the Armagh City [...]

Ten lives have been saved at Croke Park over the last two years since the stadium was equipped with a defibrillator, it has been revealed.
GAA director general Liam Mulvihill was speaking at the launch yesterday of the Cormac Trust, a fundraising body set up by the family of Tyrone footballer Cormac McAnallen.
Mr McAnallen (24) died [...]

Top medics have revealed that it will cost €8,500 (£6,000 sterling) for a county GAA squad to undergo cardiac screening.
The figure was revealed at a seminar organised by the Ulster Council, examining Sudden Cardiac Death Syndrome (SCD).
Guest speaker, Dr Matthew Wilson, the Screening Manager for Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY), told 35 doctors and [...]

Sporting personalities from the world of GAA, rugby and soccer helped launch fundraising for The Cormac Trust in the Wellington Park Hotel, Belfast, yesterday.

Tentative suggestions to build a remembrance garden in honour of Cormac McAnallen and Paul McGirr at the entrance to Omagh St Enda’s ground are still a long way from coming to fruition it was revealed this week.
In a letter to the UlsterHerald, Omagh St Enda’s clubman and joint-treasurer, Liam McGrath, had offered the opinion that [...]

Spirited young man was ‘a great lad’
CORMAC McAnallen’s grieving mother this week spoke poignantly about the son every mother would wish for.
Speaking from their home at Eglish, Cormac’s family paid tribute to the bright young star whose life was cut short by a rare viral infection.
Thousands of mourners are expected to line the rural roads [...]

Local mothers who lost their healthy young sons because of heart problems, have called for immediate enquiries into the increase in the number of sudden deaths.
Tyrone star, Cormac McAnallen’s mother Bridget has called for a full investigation by medical authorities into sudden cardiac deaths involving fit young players.
And a Castlederg mother, whose 19-year-old son collapsed [...]