Heart tests anguish for grieving family

7:00pm Friday 6th October 2006

A HEARTBROKEN father has told of his family's mixture of grief and uncertainty after discovering why his 21-year-old son died.

An inquest heard that Andrew Carter, of Dunster Avenue, Oswaldtwistle, died as a result of an undetected irregular heartbeat, which he could have had since he was born.

The family now face more turmoil as they wait to find out if Andrew's sister, Melanie, 24, and 10-year-old brother Jack are suffering from the same condition.

Andrew had gone to bed on July 3 complaining of a slight headache, and feeling unwell.

His father Stephen Carter found him lying dead on the floor in his bedroom in the morning after Andrew's alarm clock sounded and he failed to get up.

Dr Richard Prescott, who carried out a post-mortem examination, said the cause of death had been acute heart failure due to a cardiac arrhythmia. He said it could be a congenital fault that Andrew had been born with, or could be connected with a previous viral infection. Dr Prescott added: "He may not have complained of anything, or even been aware of it, but it has left scar tissue."

Speaking after the hearing, Mr Carter said that for the past three months the family had been in agony over what had happened to Andrew.

Of the tests for Melanie and Jack, Mr Carter added: "Both will be going for ECG tests to see if they are affected too.

"This has changed everything for us and there may be some decisions made in the future that we had not prepared for.

"We have all been left heartbroken by Andrew's death."

Speaking about Andrew, who worked in the Accrington-based family business Victoria Glass, Mr Carter said: "I don't miss him at home because at 21 he was home from work before me, showered, changed, out the door and in his car off out to see his friends. It is at work where I miss him the most.

"He enjoyed life, he was always happy. It seems a strange thing to say, but I have become even prouder of my son since he died because everyone has stopped to tell me what a wonderful person he was. He will be sorely missed by a lot of people and I would like to thank all our friends and family for their kind words. Without their support I don't know what we would have done."