LAURIE Carpenter breathed a sigh of relief as a doctor gave him the all-clear.

Others may not have been so lucky.

Mr Carpenter, 35, who runs New Coronet Bingo Club in Didcot, got a last-minute appointment at a day of free cardiac screenings in Abingdon.

The event at Peachcroft Christian Centre was organised by town resident Ulrike Rowbottom, in memory of her son Adam.

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In 2011, 23-year-old Adam Rowbottom went to sleep one night and never woke up.

The former Larkmead School student’s family only found out months later he had an undetected genetic heart condition – left ventricular non-compaction.

Mrs Rowbottom, 54, and other family raised £3,500 for National charity Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) to hold 100 free cardiac screenings in Abingdon in the hope of saving a life like Adam’s.

Oxford Mail:

Anthony Rowbottom, 29, Adam’s brother, with their mum Ulrike.

Mr Carpenter said: “I was just escorting my girlfriend who had booked an appointment beforehand, and some people had cancelled so I had a scan.

“I thought it was a brilliant idea, and it seemed to get a really good response.

“I’m generally quite an active person, so I was interested to learn the more active you are, the more prone you are to sudden heart failure.”

In the UK, 12 apparently healthy young people die every week from undiagnosed heart conditions and CRY tests 14,000 young people every year.

Mr Carpenter, who recently completed a 700km hike in Portugal, said: “It’s not something you tend to think about, but you could die in peak physical condition.”

Mrs Rowbottom, of Mattock Way, Abingdon, said the screening was part of her son’s legacy, and said: “I refused to let his death be in vain.”

On Wednesday, people aged between 14 and 35 were invited to take a quick, simple electrocardiogram (ECG), worth £100, free of charge.

If CRY cardiologists detected an abnormality, the patient was offered an immediate echocardiogram test, which images the heart.

Doctors were ready to recommend a type of treatment and refer the person to the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, or to St George’s Hospital, London.

In March last year, Adam’s brother Anthony and friend James Edwards cycled 750 miles from London to Berlin to raise more than £10,000 in aid of the cause.

Last July, Anthony and three of Adam’s friends joined 1,000 people on a sponsored walk in London.

Mrs Rowbottom said the family planned to continue raising money to try to save lives in Adam’s memory.

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