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More than a year after the sudden death of a boy from St-Elzéar, the coroner concludes that Jacob Therrien died naturally as a result of a genetic heart disease. A relief for his parents, who can finally explain the tragic death of their 11 year old son.
Without knowing it, the boy had hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. On October 22, 2017, Jacob and his family participated in a hike to the Pedestrian Trails of the 3 Monts de Saint-Joseph-de-Coleraine when he lost consciousness before making a cardio-respiratory arrest.
Contrary to his habit, the young athlete, who was in perfect health, had shown some signs of fatigue.
Genetic anomaly
According to coroner Donald Nicole, the disease is the result of a genetic anomaly and usually causes no symptoms. But in some cases, people suffer from shortness of breath or dizziness.
"The thickening of the walls of the heart […] causes less blood to reach the heart and that is where it can cause discomfort or [une] malignant arrhythmia, "says the coroner.
"It can lead to death, while others who are affected will live with their whole lives. As part of my practice, it happens a few times, among young people who were working or who suddenly collapsed at the effort, "he continues.
Although the coroner's report provides an explanation for the sudden death of their child, the parents say they saw no warning signs.
"It's the first time that day that I thought my son might have something. He cried, he was in pain because he could not keep up. Still, we were not running, we were walking. It's hard as a parent to determine what exactly is going on, "says his father, Clement Therrien.
Electrocardiogram
The parents of Jacob Therrien also believe that it could be rebaduring to perform electrocardiograms for children, especially for young athletes.
"It's cheap for society, it's done in a CLSC, by a nurse. For us, it could have given us a small sign that his heart rate was abnormal and we could have done more tests later, "he says.
"It's almost the only way to diagnose heart disease and it's the easiest way to get it," says his mother, Sandra Lessard.
The Therrien family has also pbaded a battery of tests over the past year. Fortunately, no one has the same illness as Jacob. "Life is very fragile, it's a thread," says Therrien emotionally.
What is hypertrophic cardiomyopathy?
- Cardiac genetic disease
- First cause of sudden death among young people under 40
- Key 1 or 2 people out of 1000
- Most are asymptomatic
- Symptoms: shortness of breath, chest pain on exertion, palpitations, dizziness, loss of consciousness, swelling of the legs
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