When Lisa Browne was found dead one morning by her distraught husband, they thought she might have suffered a fatal deep vein thrombosis in her sleep.  But when the truth came out months later, if was far more bizarre.

Lisa, 27, had been killed by her alarm clock. 

Lisa’s family knew nothing of this.  They were baffled about her death – and not knowing was agony.  An inquest, which heard that Lisa had felt tired and dizzy months before her death on January 10, 1998, proved inconclusive. 

Finally, in November that year, Lisa’s mum Doreen Harley, 57, of Connah’s Quay, Flintshire, got in touch with CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young), a national support group for families of sudden-death victims of heart problems.  She was referred to a specialist cardiac screening unit in London. 

Lisa’s post-mortem tissue was genetically tested and it was found that she had Long QT syndrome, inherited from her dad Terry, 60.  This is a genetic disease that can cause sudden death when abnormal heart rhythms are further disrupted by fright – which can be caused by a sudden noise.  Experts concluded that Lisa had been killed by the sound of her alarm clock. 

“My fears turned to my other daughter Rachel and her family," says Doreen.  “At her age, she was in the high-risk category.” 

It took Doreen two years to persuade Rachel Willn (left, with Doreen), now 32, and her elder son Jack, nine, to be screened.  And both were found to have Long QT syndrome.

In June 2002, Rachel was fitted with an ICD – a device that regulates the heartbeat and kick-starts the heart if it stops. 

Rachel recalls: “Just a few weeks later Adam, my youngest, suddenly started screaming in the next bedroom and I blacked out.  Luckily the ICD saved me.” 

Adam, five, also has the syndrome and like Jack, has to take medication. 

Both will get an ICD in their teens. 

Says Doreen: “Lisa’s death was dreadful but thankfully it alerted us to the dangers for the others.” 

Find out more about Long QT Syndrome