Rare heart disorder killed woman (27) as alarm clock sounded

An inquest is set to be re-opened into the death of a Chester nurse who died of sudden heart failure after being awoken by her alarm clock. 

New evidence has come to light which proves that 27-year-old Lisa Jane Browne died of a rare heart abnormality and family members are finally hoping to have this fact officially recognised by the coroner. 

The registered nurse, who worked at the Countess of Chester Hospital, died in bed alongside her husband Stuart after being startled by her 6am alarm call. 

Members of her family, from Connah’s Quay, Deeside had always suspected she died as a result of an electrical abnormality of the heart which cannot be detected after death – the rare Long QT Syndrome – are now anticipating a new inquest into her death. 

Lisa’s mother, Doreen Harley (58) said: “We have been asking for a new inquest for some time and have finally been told that the inquest will be re-opened at some point. 

“The coroner has been in touch with the histopathologist at the Countess to ask her advice, and this seems to point to the need for a new inquest.  We have not yet been informed of a new date for the hearing.” 

Mrs Harley has been waiting for two years for the result of tests carried out in Sweden on tissue samples originally taken during her daughter’s post-mortem examination to ascertain if she had the hereditary heart condition. 

The results cam back just over two weeks ago and confirmed what the family had always suspected. 

“It is now clear Lisa died as a result of this syndrome,” said Mrs Harley. 

“I believe she died after she woke to turn her alarm off.” 

The coroner for Cheshire said at the original inquest, in August 1998, that the cause of her death had been “unascertainable.” 

Family members are now seeking to have the death certificate rewritten and the cause of death to be certified as a result of Long QT Syndrome. 

Since Lisa’s death, her family have all been screened for the condition – with bad news being confirmed for several of them. 

“My husband Terry, daughter Rachel (32) and nephews, Jack (eight) and Adam (five), have all been diagnosed with Long QT,” said Mrs Harley. 

“It is a genetic condition where there is a 50 per cent chance that it can be passed on.”

The condition affects about one in 7,000 people and can be responsible for causing a very fast heart rhythm which can lead to the loss of consciousness or a heart attack. 

Mrs Harley is keen to publicise the work of the Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) charity for which she works. 

Find out more about Long QT syndrome