Andrew Key, a father-of-one from Longridge, was found dead in the bath earlier this year having succumbed to Sudden Arrhythmia Death Syndrome (SADS), also known as Sudden Adult Death Syndrome.
Danielle Riley has paid tribute to her late partner of 11 years who died without showing any signs of prior illness whatsoever. As-well-as having a son together, in two-year-old Arlo, Danielle and Andy were due to get married in August 2020 but had to postpone due to Covid.
“It’s still such a shock, I don’t understand how a healthy person can just suddenly die; he wasn’t ill, there was no reason for it. In the entire time I’ve known him he’s only ever had one day off work, he was never sick.”
“The shock, the emotional impact of a sudden inexplicable death, I just can’t describe it. It doesn’t seem real. When they told me it was SADS I just didn’t believe it, it was like someone had made it up, like it wasn’t a real thing. He was such a good person: a good father, a good friend, a good partner. He didn’t do anything to deserve this. People will read this and think: ‘this won’t happen to me’ but it does happen.”
According to Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY), an average of 12 people aged under 35 die suddenly from a previously undiagnosed heart condition every week in the UK. Research has shown that 80 per cent of these deaths occur with no prior symptoms.
Danielle now pledges to set up free heart screenings for Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY). “We want to help our wider community and ensure something positive can come out of this.”
To read the full article click here
