SADS Awareness Week will take place from 2-6 October 2017.

The JHMT was set up after the death of Rothley teenager Joe Humphries in 2012. Joe died from SADS while out on a training jog near his home. SADS stands for sudden arrhythmic death syndrome, a collective term for a group of deadly genetic heart conditions which cause a disturbance with the heart rhythm and can lead to sudden cardiac arrest.

On Monday 2 October, SADS Week kicks off with a launch event at Woodstock Primary Academy in Leicester. Children will have a special assembly where they will meet Ruffle the Rail Dog, the creation of local author Rachel Greaves.
Ruffle is the star of Ruffle The Life Saver, a new book and film about CPR training and to mark SADS Week, the JHMT is donating a copy of the book to every city and county primary school.

There will also be a balloon launch at the school to get SADS Week off to a flying start.
On Wednesday 4 October, at De Montfort University, the students' union will be hosting Leicestershire's 'Restart A Heart Day' as part of SADS Week.

Students and staff will be invited to learn CPR and how to use a defibrillator in the students' union building. The event will be open anyone passing by, with training delivered by East Midlands Ambulance Service, Community First Responders and JHMT.
On the same day, CPR training will take place for students at Stephenson College, in Coalville. And at De Lisle College, which was Joe's school, Joe's annual photography competition will be launched, which encourages the talents of De Lisle students and is held in memory of Joe and his passion for arts.

On Thursday 5 October, at De Montfort University's Hugh Aston building, another of the week's SADS talks will take place.
Led by Dr Ffion Davies, consultant in A&E and JHMT's SADS expert, the session will examine SADS and its implications for those who participate in physical activities. There will also be feedback from other local heartsafe initiatives, including Leicester City Council's Heart Friendly Parks scheme and Leicestershire County Cricket Club's Heart Awareness Cricket project, both of which run in conjunction with JHMT.
The talk starts at 5.30pm and is open to all students, staff, and members of the community.
For further details, call 0116 366 4813 or email: abigail.battisto@dmu.ac.uk

JHMT patron and rugby legend Martin Johnson, who will open the Thursday talk, said:

"Once again, SADS Week is a timely reminder for us all of the importance of people having basic CPR life-saving skills and knowing how to use a defibrillator.

"What a bystander does or does not do in those vital few seconds and minutes following a collapse can be the difference between surviving or not. Every year in the UK, there are 27,000 potentially survivable sudden cardiac deaths. Simple skills really do save lives and CPR can buy vital time."

JHMT medical lead and consultant in emergency medicine at Leicester's hospitals, Dr Ffion Davies, said:

"It's great to see that year on year the JHMT increases SADS awareness amongst healthcare professionals in Leicestershire, and promotes CPR training and defibrillator familiarity amongst more and more local sports organisations, schools and members of the public. This will save lives."

Rounding off the week, on Friday 6 October, there will be a Heart Friendly Parks training session at Abbey Park's education centre, starting at 10am. To find out more, email parks@leicester.gov.uk

You can also follow SADS Awareness Week events and activities on Facebook and Twitter: facebook.com/jhmtorguk or @jhmt.org.uk
and on the JHMT website at jhmt.org.uk/sads-week-2017