Committed to Safeguarding the Heart Health of Young People

At Teen Heart Project, we are dedicated to ensuring the heart health of young people aged 16 to 18 through accessible ECG screening. Our mission is to address the alarming gap in cardiac screening for youth, particularly outside elite sports, and to promote awareness of potential heart risks among young people.

James and Miles met on the touchline watching their children play sports. They shared a concern about the gap between cardiac screening being recommended for teenagers who are playing sport and the lack of provision for this. They couldn’t understand why their children’s teammates who were doing ‘elite’ sports through Academies and National Pathways were having mandatory cardiac screening whereas the other similarly active children had nothing. Research revealed that screening only tended to happen after the devastating tragedy of a young person dying from an undisclosed heart condition and subsequent fundraisers to screen their friends and teammates. James has been interested in intervention-based cardiology all his career and with Miles’ background in health and wellness businesses, they both believe strongly that UK teenagers deserve much better and that they are in a position to address this.

Despite the increasing participation of UK teenagers in sports and dance activities, ECG screening for 16 to 18-year-olds is not widely available unless they are involved in elite sports. The UK NHS does not provide health screening for this age group without family pathology, leaving many young individuals at risk. The British Heart Foundation’s 2024 “Dream Until I Die” campaign has highlighted this critical issue however there is yet to be a viable solution.

The lack of accessible screening leaves many at risk of undetected cardiac issues.