A mother whose son died from an undiagnosed heart defect is reaching out to other parents who have experienced the same sad fate. 

Vera Looker's son Michael, was a fit, healthy, football-mad 21-year-old who had everything to live for when his heart suddenly stopped. 

Mrs Looker said: "He collapsed on the bathroom floor, we tried to resuscitate him.  He was only 21 and he seemed completely healthy. 

"One of the hardest things, apart from dealing with our grief, was trying to find out more information about what Michael had died from." 

For years Mrs Looker has been searching for answers as to why her son died. 

Now she has become the Hampshire representative of a charity which helped her in the aftermath of his death. 

Cardiac Risk in the Young helps raise awareness both of sudden arrhythmic death syndrome and diseases related to it.  The aim is to help parents explain why a young person dies unexpectedly. 

The syndrome, known as SODS, is thought to kill eight young people in the UK every week. 

In one in 20 cases, no cause of death can e found, even after the heart has been examined by an expert cardiac pathologist. 

Mrs Looker, of The Dale, Widley, wants young people to receive a routine heart scan before they leave school.  She also wants to let other parents know that help is available if they have lost a child in this way. 

"People are beginning to know more about it, but it is always nice to remind them that we are here, Mrs Looker said.

"Young people in the army are traditionally screened for this disease, as are young people in other countries, so young people here should be able to benefit as well. 

"Healthy young people can just drop dead and a lot of families suspect their son or daughter may have died of this, but a lot of the time natural causes is given as a reason. 

"This is not about my son's death, it's now about saving other people from having the same fate we did."

CRY FOR HELP

CRY is a charity founded in May 1995 to raise awareness of Cardiac Risk in the Young. 

The charity offers family conference and support days for parents who want to find out more information about Sudden Cardiac Death and other Sudden Death Syndromes. 

The charity offers support to those who have suffered a loss through a network of affected families and counselling and promotes heart screening, ECG Testing Programmes and medical research. 

The charity has donated medical equipment to doctor's surgeries and hospitals.