A TALENTED Rugby man who died suddenly due to an undiagnosed heart condition is the inspiration behind a pioneering project to prevent similar tragedies.
Anthony Lane died in 2022 at the age of just 26 when he suffered a cardiac arrest while exercising.
Now his dad Paul is launching a new cardiac screening initiative in his son’s memory.
Paul said: “One Saturday morning, Anthony was on his turbo trainer bike at home, exercising alone. His partner returned home after shopping to find him unresponsive on the floor. West Midlands Ambulance Service and the Air Ambulance attended but unfortunately Anthony had already passed away.
“It is believed Anthony had an undiagnosed heart condition from which he had no symptoms. It is likely that Anthony’s heart ‘short-circuited’ and went into a lethal arrhythmia called ventricular fibrillation that causes sudden cardiac death if not treated immediately with CPR and defibrillation.”
Anthony was a talented mechanical engineer who landed his dream job at Mercedes F1 in Northamptonshire.
Anthony’s death led his family to the Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) charity, which works to prevent young sudden cardiac deaths through awareness, screening and research, and which supports affected families.
After learning about the charity’s research and efforts to get the government to test young people aged 14-34, Paul is holding what he hopes will be the first of many screening sessions at Sutton Coldfield Town FC this summer.
Paul, who is the President of the town’s Wylde Green Rotary Club, adopted CRY as the club’s Charity of the Year, and has headed up fund-raising campaigns and secured Rotary grants to fund the session.
He added: “They say events happen for a reason, and Anthony’s passing away and our work with CRY has given us the ability to organise the screening session – at the end of which we may have saved a young person’s life.”
A talented mechanical engineer, Anthony was proud to land his dream job at Mercedes F1 in Northamptonshire, after graduating from Birmingham University in 2019. He was Technical Director for the University of Birmingham Racing (UBR) Team which competes at Silverstone each year.
Colleagues at Mercedes at Brixworth have dedicated an annual Karting Cup to Anthony’s memory. It is presented by Paul and his wife Penny and raises money for Anthony’s Memorial Fund.
In a special memorial tribute, his name was added to the nose cone of drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russells’ cars in the 2022 F1 racing season.
In a special memorial tribute, Anthony’s name was added to the nose cone of drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russells’ cars in the 2022 F1 racing season.
Paul said: “Anthony was a perfectly healthy young person who, like all young people, didn’t go to the doctor and who thought he was invincible. One minute he was perfectly fit on his turbo trainer, the next minute he’s gone.
“It is so tragic that this happened but we like to think of this project as a lasting memorial to him.”
CRY uses an electrocardiogram (ECG) to diagnose cardiac abnormalities. If a young person is found to have an abnormality, CRY refers them for further screening.
CRY’S CEO Dr Steven Cox said: “In addition to our pioneering screening programme which has been so generously supported by the Wylde Green Rotary Club in memory of Anthony, CRY also funds a world-renowned research centre in London and a unique, nationwide Bereavement Support network.
“These services are so important and I’d therefore like to publicly thank Paul, his family and wider Rotary connections for the awareness they are raising and everything they are doing to support CRY and our ongoing mission to prevent young sudden cardiac deaths.”
The first screening day at Sutton Coldfield Town FC takes place on July 21.
Visit https://tinyurl.com/bdfrm6m8 to support Anthony’s friends in their next fundraiser.
