Imperial has received a £50,000 donation from charitable foundation Dan's Trust to support a research project into Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome.

Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome (SADS) is an unexpected and sudden death from cardiac arrest in the absence of any apparent structural problems with the heart. It is caused by genetic heart conditions which lead to disturbance in the heart’s rhythm, and often affects those who are young and outwardly fit and healthy.

Dan’s Trust was set up in memory of Daniel Bagshaw – a 27 year old lawyer and cycling enthusiast from Lancashire who collapsed suddenly on the finishing line of the Hong Kong triathlon in 2011 after suffering a fatal cardiac arrest caused by SADS. The Trust is primarily focussed on raising money to promote and fund research into the early diagnosis of cardiac risk in the young, and on driving the improvement of treatment methods for sudden cardiac arrest.

The three year Imperial project, which is being led by Dr Amanda Varnava, a consultant cardiologist at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, alongside Dr Prapa Kanagaratnam and Dr Fu Ng from the National Heart and Lung Institute, will harness state-of-the-art genetic testing and novel electrical mapping tools to investigate the harmful rhythms that give rise to SADS, and ways to identify those at risk.

The generous donation from Dan’s Trust has been used to fund researcher Dr Kevin Leong for the first year of the project, who will investigate electrical features within the heart which make an individual susceptible to the rhythms that lead to sudden death

Dr Varnava said: “Each week in the UK, twelve fit and healthy people below the age of 35 die suddenly. These individuals often have no warning at all - they are fit and able to participate in triathlons and other sporting events - but are secretly harbouring an inherited cardiac condition.”

“If we are able to identify those who are at risk from SADS, we are able to offer them an internal defibrillator which almost comprehensively protects them from sudden death. This is why screening for these conditions is so important.”

Dr Leong said: “Through this project we are aiming to understand both how the rhythms associated with SADS arise, and to identify the characteristics which we can use to predict which individuals are at high risk of sudden death. We are very grateful to Dan's Trust for the generous donation which has facilitated this work.”

Ian Bagshaw, co-founder of Dan's Trust

Ian Bagshaw (pictured), Daniel’s brother and co-founder of the Trust said: “My brothers and I had always talked about founding a charitable trust, and it felt like a fitting tribute to Dan to begin this in his name. We managed to raise a significant amount of money through Dan's Trust, initially from cycling feats such as the Tour de France, and we knew that we wanted to use this in a way that would have a real and lasting impact.

“Our family had already been referred to Amanda for testing to see whether we were at risk of Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome (SADS), and we were incredibly impressed by her expertise. We were also motivated by the prospect of our donation helping to attract greater funding for research into this rare but catastrophic condition. I'm proud that Dan's Trust is able to support this important work.”