UCC want others to follow cardiac lead

The UCC Clubs Executive, who became the first third-level organisation to cardiac screen all their sports scholarship students through Heartaid, are hopeful other colleges around the country will follow their lead and put elite athletes through the process.

“We decided it was important our elite athletes got tested just in case that someone did have a problem with their heart,” said Sonia Minihane, Vice-President of the UCC Clubs Executive.

“We’d spoken about it briefly early last year and we thought it was a good thing to run with it given that so many young people have collapsed on pitches. We had a meeting and it happened really fast.