A teenager found dead by his mother suffered a suspected heart defect that reduced the amount of blood being pumped around his body, an inquest heard.
Nathan Butler, aged 16, was discovered lying on the floor of his bedroom in Hassam Parade, Wolstanton, in February.
The talented cricketer – who represented Staffordshire in the game, and had trained as a lifeguard – had shown no previous signs of any heart condition.
An inquest at North Staffordshire Coroner’s Court heard yesterday that Nathan probably suffered from hypertrophic cardiiomyopathy – a thickening of the wall of the heart.
Since his death, his father Philip has been diagnosed with a similar condition, and further tests could be carried out on his family.
Doctor Mark Rogerson, consultant pathologist at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire, said extensive tests were carried out on Nathan’s heart.
But he said it was not possible to be totally certain as to cause of death, as nationally-renowned heart specialist Dr Mary Sheppard had been unable to confirm his condition.
He said: “I think it is reasonable at this stage to say the cause of death is hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, but I don’t like to call it like that if the expert is reluctant to do it.”
Nathan’s mum Angela told the inquest her son showed no signs of ill health when he went to cricket practise the day before his death.
The following day, Mrs Butler went out to work and returned around midday, but seeing no signs of Nathan in the house, she went up to his bedroom to find him lying half-dressed on the floor.
She said: “I thought that he couldn’t still be in bed and that was when I went up and found him.
“Even though I rang the ambulance, I knew he was dead.”
She added: “There was never anything wrong with him at all. I have spoken to some of his coaches and he never complained.”
After hearing Dr Rogerson’s evidence, North Staffordshire Coroner Ian Smith returned a verdict of death by probable hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
He told the family: “I am satisfied this is a natural cause of death, and a very tragic cause of death in someone so young and active.
“I can’t begin to appreciate what you have been going through since early on this year.”
Speaking afterwards, Mrs Butler said the findings of the inquest did not come as a surprise.
Since February, members of the family have campaigned to raise awareness of the work of the Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) charity, which works with heart conditions like Nathan’s.
She said: “We have been in touch with the CRY charity and they explained everything, so this confirmed what we suspected.”
