 A
North Wales mother whose
daughter died of sudden adult death syndrome is now lending her support to other
families who suffer the same tragedy.
Doreen
Harley was devastated when her daughter, Lisa Jane Browne, 27, (picture left), a
Countess of Chester Hospital nurse, inexplicably died in 1998. Her husband found
her dead in bed one morning and all attempts to resuscitate her failed.
The
official inquest verdict was open and cause of death unascertainable. The
pathologist however said there was a possibility that Lisa could have had an
electrical rhythm fault with her heart.
Now
Mrs Harley is working with at least eight other families in the region to come
to terms with sudden, unexplained deaths.
Some
of the families in Flintshire and Chester have undergone screening to discover
whether they suffer from a heart abnormality which could
explain sudden deaths particularly in
young people.
Mrs
Harley, from Connah’s Quay, is
working
with the charity Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) to campaign for a national
screening programme
which
could save lives. She is also training to become a counsellor for the charity,
which was established in
1995.
After
Lisa’s death, Doreen and husband Terry were advised to undergo a full
screening. Terry was diagnosed with Long QT Syndrome, an electrical
abnormality
in the heart which would not be evident at post mortem. It is also hereditary.
"It’s
quite possible that a lot of these unexplained deaths are people who may have
this heart condition," she said.
Basically
the condition, which can produce symptoms such as black-outs, fainting,
palpitations and tiredness, is most evident after stress or strenuous exercise
but it can be triggered during sleep, if startled, when the heart’s rhythm is
disrupted and arrests.
Mrs
Harley’s own daughter, Lisa, died after she was woken suddenly by her alarm
clock. She saw her doctor six months before her death, complaining of chest
pains and lightheadedness. She was given anti-depressants.
If
diagnosed, however, the
condition
can be treated by beta-blockers.
"A
normal ECG can fail to detect it," said Mrs Harley. "Cardiac Risk in
the Young says there are at least 11 causes of SADS and the Long QT Syndrome is
just one. What the charity wants to do is raise awareness and get a national
screening programme in place."
Mrs Harley is now trying to help Ann Wall, mother of 26-year-old Craig Wall
(picture right) who suddenly died in May at his home in Wood Lane, Hawarden.
Craig was fit and healthy, with no history of illness, but died suddenly when he
fell out of bed after his girlfriend nudged him to stop him snoring.
As
with Lisa, an open verdict was recorded
and the cause of death was unascertained. Mrs Harley has been in touch with Mrs
Wall, of Neston, for
about
three weeks and says she is ‘likely
to undergo screening to see if the heart condition exists in her family.
Since
the death of her daughter, Mrs Harley has been in touch with a family in
Queensferry, Ewloe, Holywell, two families in Chester, two further ones in
Flintshire and now Craig’s family.
She
is Cry's representative in the Flintshire, Wrexham and Chester areas. CRY
believes up to four young people die each week from sudden death syndrome. One
famous case was the
son
of Wales soccer manager Terry Yorath,
15-year-old Daniel, who had
just
signed for Leeds, who died when playing football with his dad.
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