Brother Loses Teen Sister To Sudden Adult Death Syndrome

A brother is exploring the loss of his seemingly healthy sister to sudden adult death syndrome in a new BBC documentary.

Lauren Mead was just 19 when she passed away in her sleep in October 2019.

Her death was subsequently attributed to sudden adult death syndrome (sudden arrhythmia death syndromes/SADS) - a mysterious cardiac cause of death which affects around 500 people in the UK every year.

BBC

Brother Patrick, from Frome, Somerset, looks into the tragic condition in Sudden Death: My Sister's Silent Killer, in which he and his family undergo a series of tests at a specialist cardiac clinic at St George's Hospital in London.

Reflecting on the loss of his sister, 18-year-old Patrick says: "You spend a lot of time around your sibling, especially when it's an older sibling, all of my memories have Lauren in it in some way.

"The fact Mum and Dad did separate meant that me and Lauren were closer, we'd always both be at Mum's or Dad's so we spent all the time that we weren't at school together.

"One of the things that makes it so difficult to accept is that it just came out of nowhere.

"We got the coroner's report back and it says SADS. What does that really mean? For me it would just help to know what happened to Lauren so that I can fully process it and come to terms with it a bit more."

In the documentary, he also speaks to footballer James Folkes of Tonbridge Angels FC - a club which has lost three players to sudden cardiac death.

James is still haunted by the memory of watching a teammate die on the pitch.

He says: "Just seeing that and being there, witnessing it first-hand was horrible, I'll carry that to my grave.

"I think it raised awareness for a lot of people at the club that this can genuinely happen to anyone. I think that's when we pushed for getting the free heart screening for players and the community as well."

In Italy, mandatory screening of players has seen deaths cut by almost 90 percent; however, it is not a fool proof system, as Fabrice Muamba explains in the documentary.

PA

The former Bolton player was screened before a game in 2012 when his heart stopped for 78 minutes, but he miraculously survived.

You can watch Sudden Death: My Sister's Silent Killer tonight (Wednesday 14 April) on BBC One at 10.45pm, or watch it now on iPlayer.

Topics: TV and Film, Interesting, Health

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey