Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve access to cardiac screening for young people.

The Government recognises how worrying heart health can be for the families of young people. That is why the National Health Service already offers cardiac tests for young people who present with symptoms that could indicate a cardiac issue.

However, testing young people without symptoms would be classed as a screening programme. It is vital that screening policy is based on robust scientific evidence, as screening can also cause harm.

In considering whether any screening programme should be introduced, the Government is guided by the independent scientific advice of the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC). The UK NSC makes its recommendations based on internationally recognised criteria and a rigorous evidence review and consultation process. Where the committee is confident that offering screening provides more good than harm, they recommend a screening programme.

The UK NSC last reviewed screening for the conditions associated with sudden cardiac death in people under the age of 39 years old in 2019. The conclusion of that review was that population screening should not be offered, as research showed that current tests are not accurate enough to use on young people with no symptoms.

Current evidence suggests that introducing population-level screening for sudden cardiac death would cause harm by misdiagnosing some people, which could lead to some people being prescribed medication that they don’t need or undergoing medical procedures that they don’t need, such as having an implantable defibrillator fitted. It could lead to people living in fear of sudden cardiac death when they’re not at risk, and potentially making life-changing decisions, such as giving up exercise, which could have a negative long-term impact on their health.

The UK NSC is due to open a public consultation to seek comments from members of the public and stakeholders on screening for the conditions associated with sudden cardiac death later this spring, and we would encourage those with an interest to contribute.