'Normal, healthy' 11-year-old girl died in her sleep of silent condition which one in 1,000 Brits may have READ MORE: Over-the-counter remedy to help regrow patchy eyebrows works By John Ely Deputy Health Editor For Mailonline Published: 12:05 EDT, 29 October 2024 | Updated: 12:05 EDT, 29 October 2024 e-mail View comments A father has told of his heartbreaking anguish after his 'healthy' 11-year-old daughter died suddenly in her sleep. Steve Pritchard, 43, said his daughter, Matilda, had gone to bed 'normally' on the night of April 2 this year, showing no sign she was unwell. But on the following morning Mr Pritchard and his wife, Anna, 43, discovered Matilda had suffered a cardiac arrest in her sleep.
Despite the best efforts of paramedics who arrived on the scene within two minutes, she was pronounced dead on arrival at hospital. Mr Pritchard, a company director, from Pudsey, Leeds, said it was later revealed that Matilda had an undiagnosed heart condition called arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy. This is a genetic defect that causes the heart muscles to be weaker than normal and thus have to work harder to pump blood, which can result in a potentially deadly cardiac arrest.
The gene that causes arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy occurs in about one in 1,000 people, though not everyone who carries it will develop the condition. Both Mr and Mrs Pritchard as well as Matilda's older sister Olivia have now had several tests to find out if they also ha.