A 25-year-old man was found dead by his parents after being discharged from hospital with chest pain.
Ben Peters was rushed to A&E after experiencing symptoms including shortness of breath and after spending hours at the hospital, doctors said he was experiencing anxiety or gastroenteritis as all of his tests came back clear.
His family said the healthy man, who had just taken his final exams to become a qualified solicitor, was running a local football team and was getting ready to buy his first home, was discharged with an anxiety disorder from Manchester Royal Infirmary.
But the next morning, on November 12, 2022, Ben was discovered dead by his heartbroken father, having had a catastrophic haemorrhage within his heart, reports the Manchester Evening News.
Ben's family now want to raise awareness of the condition and raise money for a charity supporting families which lose young loved ones to heart problems.
His brother Michael said Ben's death was "a big shock" and, remembering the last night they spent together, he said: "It was a Friday night, around midnight, Ben started having a lot of chest pain and was breathing in and out quickly, having serious shortness of breath.
"I rang my mum and dad and Ben went to A&E at the Manchester Royal Infirmary. He had quite a few tests and none of them showed anything was wrong.
"Doctors just put his symptoms down to anxiety disorder or gastroenteritis because he was incredibly tense and having heart palpitations."
After returning from the hospital, Ben fell asleep on the sofa and tragically, when his dad went to check on him, he found him dead, Michael said.
An MRI scan might have uncovered the deadly aortic tear which killed him, says the family, but Ben's brother said doctors had done multiple scans that all came back clear. The symptoms of such a tear are severe pains in the chest and can result in sudden death.
Michael said: "The inquest found that there was nothing out of the ordinary. Ben's electrocardiogram (ECG) was normal, his X-ray came out fine.
"The medics are looking for the most likely cause and there was just nothing they thought was an issue, they can't look into every single possible detail. Really, it was just a very unlucky set of circumstances and timings. It was no one's fault.
"He lived in a flat away from our family, it was good that at least he wasn’t on his own when it happened."
An inquest this month found Ben had died from a lethal aortic dissection – something he was unknowingly predisposed to, according to his family.
"The inquest revealed that Ben had a catastrophic haemorrhage of his aorta. There was a tear on his heart and it expanded, and ended up completely severing, which killed him," said Michael.
"My mum and dad have really struggled since, but our friends and family have been hugely supportive. In a strange way, this has brought our family together."
After getting advice from the charity C.R.Y. (Cardiac Risk in the Young), Ben's immediate family, including his two brothers Harry and Michael, mum Anna and dad Stephen, underwent MRI scans, ECGs and echocardiograms to check their own hearts.
The tests have found that Stephen has the same vulnerability, so he will be undergoing open-heart surgery in June.
"Since then, our whole family has been checked out as Ben's death came after. There had never been any concern of any underlying causes found," said Michael.
"It was discovered that my dad's aorta was double the width it should be - he had also had no symptoms.
"He is going for an aorta operation in June, so through Ben’s death and these tests we've managed to save my dad's life."
On July 8, Ben's family and friends are hosting a charity football match at Cheadle's football ground. The team Ben ran, Cheadle Atlas, will play Davenport AFC in a match called ‘Kick for C.R.Y.’.
The family says that they want "fewer families to suffer like ours has and to hopefully improve the testing hospitals can do for young people coming to them with chest pains".
"We're trying to raise money for C.R.Y. which has been a real, massive help", Michael said.
"Ben was incredibly enthusiastic, he was a really great brother to me, he was only a year above me. He taught me a lot about life.
"Ben was a keen footballer and golfer, he was very into music. We'd had plans to go to so many gigs, it’s so sad not to be able to go with him.
"He was just such an important part of our family. Going to Man City matches, playing football and golf, and enjoying family parties without him has been hard for so many of us.
"We all miss Ben every day, and he was my best friend. It's very hard coming to terms with a life without him."
A spokesperson for Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Manchester Royal Infirmary, said: "We wish to offer our sincere condolences to the family of Ben for their loss.
"Sadly, routine tests do not always pick up on this tragic condition and Ben's circumstances were truly unfortunate. We wholeheartedly support Ben’s family and friends in raising awareness for cardiac risk in the young."
C.R.Y. offers subsidised ECG and echocardiogram screening to all young people between the ages of 14 and 35. An ECG is a simple way to diagnose most cardiac abnormalities. Results should be read by a cardiologist. For extra clarity, an echocardiogram (ultrasound scan) can also be done.
If there has been a young (under 35) sudden death in the family, the family is entitled to be screened on the NHS. All of C.R.Y.'s public events are free to attend.
