620,000 people in UK 'at risk of sudden death from faulty heart gene'

British Heart Foundation says most people affected have not been diagnosed, and true number could be higher

More than 620,000 people in the UK have a faulty gene that puts them at risk of heart disease and sudden death from heart attacks or cardiac arrests, and most of them are unaware of the risk, a charity has warned.

The British Heart Foundation (BHF), which released the figure, said it was 100,000 more than previous estimates. But the true figure could be even higher because of under-diagnosis and the presence of other, as yet unknown, faulty genes, it said.