NEARLY 200 local young people have been screened by the charity Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) thanks to the outstanding fundraising efforts of the family and friends of Dean Mason of Lampeter Velfrey.

Dean tragically died from a previously undiagnosed heart condition whilst on a family holiday in 2010, aged just 26.

This was the third time that the Dean Mason Memorial Fund has brought CRY’s screening team to Carmarthenshire.

This year’s screening, which took place at Ysgol Dyffryn Taf, saw the fund's tremendous donation to CRY of an entire screening unit.

This consisted of a new van, three electrocardiogram (ECG) machines - which trace the rhythm of the heart - and an echocardiogram machine, which uses sound waves to build up a detailed picture of the heart, similar to the ultrasound scan used in pregnancy.

A spokesperson for the family said: “We all want to thank the entire local community for all of their support and fundraising efforts in memory of Dean. Without them the new screening unit wouldn't have been possible.”

The screening, which was fully booked up weeks in advance, saw 194 young people between the ages of 14 and 35 being tested over the two days. There were five referrals made due to abnormalities being detected.

Said the founder of CRY, Alison Cox: “From everyone at CRY, I would like to say an enormous ‘thank you’ to everyone involved with the Dean Mason Memorial Fund for donating such an invaluable amount of screening equipment, which will bring enormous benefits to our ever expanding screening programme and will allow us to meet the demands for cardiac testing in young people both in Wales and throughout the UK.”

Any person aged 14-35 can book a free cardiac screening, including an ECG, on the CRY website www.testmyheart.org.