Cardiac scare woman is one of the youngest Scots to receive transplant

Samantha Bell only realised how rare her condition was when she walked into a cardiac rehab class and everyone else was 50 years older than her. And when they found out this glamorous young woman in her 20s had just become one of Scotland's youngest adult transplant patients, they were as shocked as she was. Six years ago, aged just 22, Samantha was diagnosed with the often fatal condition cardiomyopathy. By this summer, her situation had become so severe that she was kept alive by a machine doing the work of her heart. The organ could no longer function on its own and once failed completely, leaving her unconscious in a restaurant until the defibrillator device inside her fired up and jolted her back to life. But after five months on the critical transplant list, Samantha, now 28, received her incredible gift of life in July when a suitable match became available and the vital transplant op could go ahead

New test successfully identifies life-threatening heart disease

"A study led by investigators at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center has demonstrated that a new immunohistochemical test is reliable in diagnosing a dangerous arrhythmic heart disease known as arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC.) Reported in the March 12 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine, the new findings offer the possibility of a highly sensitive and specific means of identifying this life-threatening condition at an early stage, when it can be treated with by implanting a cardiac defibrillator" Physorg.com