Patricia Reaney, London: Babies should be given a simple, non-invasive test when they are about a month old to check for a life-threatening heart problem, Italian researchers said on Thursday.

The electrocardiogram (ECG) test could prevent deaths from an hereditary illness known as long QT syndrome (LQTS) "“ a heart problem than can cause sudden, unexplained death. "Our health ministries should simply add it as part of the National Health Service and offer it to everyone," said Professor Peter Schwartz, a heart specialist at the University of Pavia and the IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo research hospital in Italy.

"The cost is so low it is no longer justifiable not to do it," he added in an interview. LQTS affects the heart's rhythm and occurs in about 1 in every 2,500 births. Children and young adults with the disorder are susceptible to an abnormally fast heart rhythm which, if it is not corrected, can cause sudden death.

It rarely produces symptoms and can be triggered by loud noises, major emotions and overexertion. In some cases deaths in babies with the illness are wrongly attributed to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) or cot death, according to there searchers. "We could prevent about 10-15 percent of cot deaths, plus a number of deaths that will occur later in life," Schwartz said.

"It is a genetic disorder. Either you have it or you don't. If you have it, it will be visible at the end of the first month of life. "The condition could explain why seemingly healthy children occasionally die for no apparent reason during sports or emotional events. Schwartz and his team said an ECG, a test that measures the electrical activity of the heart and records any problem with its rhythm, can detect LQTS, which can be treated with medication.

In a study of 45,000 children, the test found signs of the disorder in almost one in 1,000 children. "The families welcomed the possibility of doing it," said Schwartz, who reported the findings in the European Heart Journal.