Zachary, age 11, died in his sleep on March 8, 2010. He was a very healthy athletic boy and never exhibited any signs or symptoms of a heart condition.  The cause of death was determined to be Long QT Syndrome (LQTS).   Zachary’s youngest brother and mother have tested positive for LQTS.

Matthew age 16, passed away just 5 days before his 17th birthday while running a mile at his school.  After collapsing his teachers called 911 and provided CPR, but an AED was not used.  He died from an undiagnosed heart condition called Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy.  The night before he died he ran a 90-minute soccer practice and his coach said it was like any other practice.  His sudden cardiac arrest twas his first and last symptom.

Bryce, age 19, collapsed on the soccer field at Chapman University on March 16, 2009, after a pickup game of soccer.  The cause of death was Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Nicky played in football games over the weekend. On September 6, 2004, his dad came to wake him for football practice and found that Nicky had died in his sleep. He was 16 years old. Cause of the fatal sudden cardiac arrest was found to be Cardiomyopathy.

Matt had experienced three surgeries for a congenital heart defect. He was standing on the sidelines of a basketball game in PE class on November 19, 2001, walked on court and collapsed. CPR was performed and his heart re-started after three defibrillator shocks.  Matt did not recover and was removed from life support six days later.  He was 17 years old.

Ryan, age 17, suffered sudden cardiac arrest three months shy of his 18th birthday. He was planning on attending the University of Delaware to pursue an education in engineering.

Daniel, age 19, died of a sudden cardiac arrhythmia on February 10, 2003, during an intra-mural soccer game after playing a few minutes. Daniel had been diagnosed with
a congenital ventricular septal defect (VSD) and was seen by a pediatric cardiologist annually. Each year, he was given echocardiogram and EKG tests. His family was told he could do any sports he wanted as long as the exercise did not give him trouble. A stress test was never done. Had defibrillators been available the day he collapsed he may have been saved.

Jake, age 17, was an athletic high school junior who participated in both football and lacrosse.  He was at football practice when he suffered sudden cardiac arrest from an undetected heart condition known as Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Dysplasia (ARVD).  He never demonstrated any signs or symptoms that anything was wrong.  His sister has also been diagnosed with ARVD.

Antwon, age 15, collapsed during basketball practice at school. An AED was available, but no one knew how to use it. Antwon appeared healthy and had no prior symptoms of a heart condition. The cause of Antwon’s cardiac arrest was an enlarged heart.

Terrell, age 14, suffered cardiac arrest due to an undetected dissection of the aorta. Terrell began playing football in the fifth grade. Despite undergoing numerous physicals over the years, an underlying heart condition was never mentioned.

As a child, Danny had a couple of fainting episodes, including one in PE class in grade school. An alert PE teacher demanded that Danny be checked. An examination discovered a heart murmur. Danny was watched and treated for several years by a pediatric cardiologist. In high school, his family was told that Danny could join the swim team and no longer needed to be seen or treated. On August 21, 2007, Danny returned from a long weekend of swimming, sunning and hauling firewood with his fiancé. When Danny did not report for work the next morning, it was discovered that he had died in the night. He was 29 years old.

Jesse died in his sleep on October 1, 2003, at age 23, after open heart surgery to replace his aortic valve. He had a heart murmur since childhood. After a routine dental cleaning, he developed a heart infection that required aortic valve replacement. The mechanical valve began to come loose and his sudden cardiac arrest occurred after a second open heart surgery.