Heart attack linked to death of groom-to-be, 21

A young man who collapsed in a nightclub and later died had unknowingly suffered a heart attack three weeks previously, an inquest was told.

Roger Andrew Parr, 21, who was known as Andrew, complained of indigestion for around three weeks before he collapsed while on a night out at Tokyo Jo’s in Church Street, Preston.

He died in the early hours of Easter Monday this year.  A post mortem examination revealed that Andrew, of Whittle Green, Wood plumpton near Preston, had actually been suffering a heart attack.

Andrew was due to be married to fiancée Gemma Abinett on November 6 this year.

And the couple, who met through doing youth work at Fulwood Free Methodist Church, were planning to move in to their first home in Ashton, Preston.

Gemma heard the news of Andrew’s death while on holiday in Australia.

After the hearing at Preston Coroner’s Court, Gemma, and Andrew’s mother Ruth Lowe, paid tribute to him.

Ruth said: “He just loved people – and everybody loved him.

“He was really excited about getting married and he had worked very hard on their house.

“He would do anything for anybody and all his friends looked upon him as their brother, a member of their families.

“He had such a lot to look forward to.”

Gemma and Andrew, a vehicle electronic equipment installer for BASE Systems, in Fylde Road, Preston, had been together for three-and-a-half-years.

Tributes have poured in for Andrew, even from people who met him only briefly.  However, he was also so shy that Gemma was to make the speech at the wedding.

Gemma said: “He got me to tell his mother that we were together because he was too shy.

“He was shy in a funny way, although you wouldn’t think it because he was always making everybody laugh.  He was just such a lovely person.”  Ruth told the inquest that her son had suffered what he thought was indigestion and had taken medication for it.

He had complained he felt unfit and had begun going to the gym.

Ruth and Andrew’s stepfather had gone away for Easter weekend to Oxfordshire.  She rang Andrew to remind him of an appointment on Easter Monday but the phone was answered by a police officer.

They had since learned that Andrew went for Sunday lunch at a friend’s home, then visited the Black Bull pub in Fulwood, Preston, before going to Tokyo Jo’s with friends.  He was about to leave when he collapsed.  An ambulance took him to hospital, where he later died.

The post mortem showed he had an enlarged heart and tests showed he had suffered a heart attack and may have had undiagnosed hypertension.  Coroner Howard McCann recorded a verdict of death by natural causes.

Ruth said the family had gained comfort from attending a Bereavement Support Day organised by Cardiac Risk in the Young and said she wanted to raise awareness of the risks.

She said: “You just don’t think about things like heart attacks when you are that age.

“We want this to be of help to others and we want to raise awareness in young people not to ignore symptoms like Andrew had.”