After all her work, Lynne would be so proud of this success

Published on Wednesday 13 August 2008 10:49

SHE spent years campaigning for youngsters to be screened for the same condition she had.

And now Lynne Lewis's campaign is showing signs of success – three years after her death.

Along with her mother Morag Grant, she lobbied tirelessly for every young person in Scotland to undergo cardiac screening.

The Broxburn woman's inspiration came after being diag-nosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy – a discovery which, her family said, added to her life by more than a decade.

Today the Scottish Government unveiled a pilot programme to check young athletes aged over 16 for heart defects, a development her mother said would be a gateway to checking all Scots youngsters.

Mrs Grant, 59, a housing support officer, said: "Lynne would be so proud to see this. This would not be happening if it hadn't been for the work Lynne put into it.

"This is a great success. It's only a pilot but everything has to start somewhere, and I'm glad we are finally seeing some success after all the work Lynne put in."

Lynne, who was 35 when she died – leaving husband Alastair and their children Sammy and Cameron – always battled what doctors and family thought was a mystery heart condition.

"We were always keen on walking as a family but when we did Lynne would be sitting on the pavement crying because she was exhausted and in so much pain," Mrs Grant added.

During a holiday in Corfu as an 18-year-old, Lynne was in such pain she thought she was having a heart attack. A year later, after a series of tests, she was diagnosed with the condition. And from that point she devoted her life to improving pick-up rates of the condition. The then-Scottish Executive argued at the time that screening every school pupil could lead to their having future problems gaining employment and insurance policies.

But at Hampden Park today Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon was set to launch the country's first session.

Mrs Grant said the death of Motherwell footballer Phil O'Donnell, who collapsed during a game on December 29 last year, had led to the issue shooting up the agenda. "It has helped of course, but none of this would be happening without Lynne."