Cell Phone Alarm Blamed for Teen's Fatal Heart Attack

Roo · Aug 30th, 2008, 05:54 PM

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,413401,00.html

Cell Phone Alarm Blamed for Teen's Fatal Heart Attack

Friday, August 29, 2008

A cell phone alarm is being blamed for triggering a sudden heart attack that led to the death of a teenager in Britain.

Kaisa Ber, 17, collapsed at home two weeks after her teachers took her to the hospital with heart palpitations and irregular breathing, the Daily Mirror reports.

It was later discovered the teenager had Long QT syndrome. LQTS is a condition that causes sudden, uncontrollable and dangerous heart rhythms in response to stress and exercise, according to the National Institutes of Health. Irregular rhythms may also be triggered by surprise or extreme emotions. In Kaisa's case, doctors believe a cell phone alarm ultimately caused her heart attack.

More than half the people who have an untreated, inherited form of LQTS die within 10 years, the NIH said on its Web site. Lifestyle changes and medical treatments can help prevent complications and lengthen life expectancy.

Kaisa's parents are now taking legal action against the school because they were not informed she was taken to the hospital by school officials.

"How could they know our child was ill and not tell the people who were in the best position to care for her," Kaisa's mother, Diane, told the Daily Mirror. "If we knew we could have done something."

HauteMama · Aug 31st, 2008, 12:49 AM

Wow, I would have said that it was sad but there was nothing anyone could have done until I read that the school did not inform her parents! How could they NOT have called her parents, or how could the girl not have told her parents she went to the hospital? Unless there are privacy laws protecting 17 year olds in Britain that I am not aware of and the girl requested that the parents not be informed?

Either way, this is heartbreaking. To believe you have a healthy teen on the verge of adulthood and then this. Devastating. My thoughts are with her family.

ayla · Aug 31st, 2008, 12:52 AM

This is terrible.. I wonder what happened with the parental situation as well. :\

pursecrzy · Aug 31st, 2008, 02:09 PM

This is horrible.

Why didn't the hospital call the parents?

Pursegrrl · Aug 31st, 2008, 02:20 PM

OMG how horrible...I can't understand why the school or hospital didn't call the parents???

Megs · Aug 31st, 2008, 07:49 PM

Wait.... the school AND hospital did not call the parents?!?! How the heck does that happen???????

gayathri · Sep 1st, 2008, 01:56 PM

WOW. This is really sad.

sea0fyears · Sep 2nd, 2008, 01:56 AM

I'm actually baffled that the daughter didn't say "Oh, I was taken to the hospital today." Aside from the fact that some person of authority should have notified them, if the girl was presumably not forced to visit the hospital she must have been complaining of pain, right? Why wouldn't you let your parents know? How in the world are parents that out of the loop?

Jahpson · Sep 2nd, 2008, 11:30 AM

i agree the parents should have been the first ones notified.

Cindi · Sep 8th, 2008, 12:01 PM

I think there is more to the story. The phone alarm may very well have caused her heart attack but so could any other sudden noise. There must be a reason her parents weren't notified. She was after all a minor.

BagAngel · Sep 8th, 2008, 09:54 PM

This is so tragic, I cannot believe that noone told the parents!

~Fabulousity~ · Sep 10th, 2008, 10:33 AM

so sad...

fatefullotus · Sep 11th, 2008, 06:44 PM

- The hospital did not notify the parents
- The school did not notify the parents
- The child did not notify the parents

All those things lend themselves to the belief that the child must be legally independent. Minors cannot be discharged from hospitals without the notice of parents or legal guardians. Ditto for such occurrences in school. If the child was indeed legally independent, the parents have very little grounds for the lawsuit.

A tragic story.

Aug 30th, 2008, 05:54 PM	#1
Roo Up to the Minute Mod Location: Rue Roo	Cell Phone Alarm Blamed for Teen's Fatal Heart Attack http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,413401,00.html Cell Phone Alarm Blamed for Teen's Fatal Heart Attack Friday, August 29, 2008 A cell phone alarm is being blamed for triggering a sudden heart attack that led to the death of a teenager in Britain. Kaisa Ber, 17, collapsed at home two weeks after her teachers took her to the hospital with heart palpitations and irregular breathing, the Daily Mirror reports. It was later discovered the teenager had Long QT syndrome. LQTS is a condition that causes sudden, uncontrollable and dangerous heart rhythms in response to stress and exercise, according to the National Institutes of Health. Irregular rhythms may also be triggered by surprise or extreme emotions. In Kaisa's case, doctors believe a cell phone alarm ultimately caused her heart attack. More than half the people who have an untreated, inherited form of LQTS die within 10 years, the NIH said on its Web site. Lifestyle changes and medical treatments can help prevent complications and lengthen life expectancy. Kaisa's parents are now taking legal action against the school because they were not informed she was taken to the hospital by school officials. "How could they know our child was ill and not tell the people who were in the best position to care for her," Kaisa's mother, Diane, told the Daily Mirror. "If we knew we could have done something." __________________ " We are the first nation in the history of the world to go to the poorhouse in an automobile." -- WILL ROGERS

Aug 31st, 2008, 12:52 AM	#3
ayla Sim Simma Location: Toronto, Ontario	This is terrible.. I wonder what happened with the parental situation as well. :\ __________________

Sep 2nd, 2008, 01:56 AM	#8
sea0fyears Ready or not... Location: Arizona	I'm actually baffled that the daughter didn't say "Oh, I was taken to the hospital today." Aside from the fact that some person of authority should have notified them, if the girl was presumably not forced to visit the hospital she must have been complaining of pain, right? Why wouldn't you let your parents know? How in the world are parents that out of the loop? __________________ Come visit my purse collection!! (new stuff on BOTTOM of page 3) 2008 Wishlist ~ Black Prada Nylon Backpack ~ Neverfull MM in Damier (got it.. love it!) ~ "Return to Tiffany's" oval bracelet ~ Damier Speedy 30 (got it) ~ Agenda PM, style undecided ~A new Hair style. (got it.. maybe once I'm brave enough I'll post pics)

Sep 2nd, 2008, 11:30 AM	#9
Jahpson Member Location: The Playground	i agree the parents should have been the first ones notified. __________________ Amazingly Sophisticated Happy Holidays to all my TPF friends!

Sep 8th, 2008, 12:01 PM	#10
Cindi Recessionista Location: PA	I think there is more to the story. The phone alarm may very well have caused her heart attack but so could any other sudden noise. There must be a reason her parents weren't notified. She was after all a minor. __________________ Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.

Aug 31st, 2008, 12:49 AM	#2
HauteMama Member	Wow, I would have said that it was sad but there was nothing anyone could have done until I read that the school did not inform her parents! How could they NOT have called her parents, or how could the girl not have told her parents she went to the hospital? Unless there are privacy laws protecting 17 year olds in Britain that I am not aware of and the girl requested that the parents not be informed? Either way, this is heartbreaking. To believe you have a healthy teen on the verge of adulthood and then this. Devastating. My thoughts are with her family.

Aug 31st, 2008, 02:09 PM	#4
pursecrzy Member	This is horrible. Why didn't the hospital call the parents?

Aug 31st, 2008, 02:20 PM	#5
Pursegrrl Oh! That Joe! Location: Seattle	OMG how horrible...I can't understand why the school or hospital didn't call the parents???

Aug 31st, 2008, 07:49 PM	#6
Megs	Wait.... the school AND hospital did not call the parents?!?! How the heck does that happen??????? __________________ Enter our fabulous November giveaway sponsored by Adriana Castro!!!! Check out our latest press, Purse Blog in the Miami Herald!

Sep 1st, 2008, 01:56 PM	#7
gayathri Member	WOW. This is really sad.

Sep 8th, 2008, 09:54 PM	#11
BagAngel LV Moderator Location: UK	This is so tragic, I cannot believe that noone told the parents!

Sep 10th, 2008, 10:33 AM	#12
~Fabulousity~ ...is rebooting	so sad... __________________ Every adversity, every failure, and every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit - Napoleon Hill

Sep 11th, 2008, 06:44 PM	#13
fatefullotus Building a rainbow Location: New York, NY	- The hospital did not notify the parents - The school did not notify the parents - The child did not notify the parents All those things lend themselves to the belief that the child must be legally independent. Minors cannot be discharged from hospitals without the notice of parents or legal guardians. Ditto for such occurrences in school. If the child was indeed legally independent, the parents have very little grounds for the lawsuit. A tragic story. __________________ My little time-passer project: UrbanGirlChronicles Take a peek at my shoes? (shoes on pages: 1, 3, 4, 5, 12, 13, 16, 18, 20, 22, 23, 25, 26)