THE Evening Press Jamie's Have A Heart Appeal will save lives, according to a man who has used one of the devices at the centre of the campaign.

The appeal, in memory of 14-year-old Jamie Bucknell from Strensall, who died due to a heart defect during a lesson at Huntington School, is to raise £7,500 to buy 12 new portable heart monitors for York District Hospital.

James Kilner, 25, of Clifton, York, used a monitor in September to graph an irregular heart beat.

He carried the small monitor with him, and when he experienced the problem placed it on his chest and recorded the information. He said: "I was given a heart monitor for a three-week period and it was an amazing piece of equipment. It was so simple to use. When you experience your symptoms, you just press a button, place the monitor to your chest and it records your heartbeat.

"Then you ring a special line at the hospital and, by pressing another button, the monitor plays the sound of the heartbeat to an answering machine. This is fed into a computer and the doctors or nurses at the hospital can then see exactly how your heart is beating when you are experiencing your symptoms.

"This is the only way that they can diagnose the problem, because if you visit the doctor's, the likelihood is that your heart will be beating normally and you can only describe the symptoms, which is not enough for a diagnosis.

"Heart monitors are absolutely vital because they can lead to the patient receiving exactly the right treatment, which will hopefully correct the problem. It may be that the problem is not all that serious, but if it is, a heart monitor could prove an absolute lifesaver."

If you are organising any fundraising activities, contact Emma Harrison, health reporter, or Richard Edwards in the Evening Press newsroom on 01904 653051. Or e-mail on:

emma.harrison@ycp.co.uk or richard.edwards@ycp.co.uk.

Donations should be sent to either reporter and it will be paid into a special bank account set up for the appeal. Cheques should be made out to "Have A Heart For Jamie Appeal".

Updated: 09:50 Saturday, December 01, 2001