2 students die of suspected cardiac arrests within 3 days
Agra : Two school students, aged 10 and 17, died in separate incidents of suspected cardiac arrest in Muzaffarnagar within three days, raising concerns over sudden cardiac emergencies among children. In the latest incident, a 17-year-old Class XI student died after collapsing while playing a mobile game at his home in Purkazi town on Tuesday. The incident comes three days after 10-year-old Nihal , a Class IV student, collapsed during a running event at his school in Raipur Nagli village, under Ratanpuri police station limits, on Saturday.
Purkazi SHO Manvendra Bhati said, “The family attributed the death to cardiac arrest and declined a postmortem. Nihal’s father, Pramod, said the child had no known health problems and had left for school in good health that morning. Heart specialist Dr RB Singh said underlying conditions such as hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM), which causes thickening of the heart muscle, can trigger sudden cardiac arrest.
Police completed the necessary inquest proceedings and handed over the body to the family, which later performed the last rites. The boy, the only son among four siblings, was first taken to a hospital in Khatauli and subsequently referred to Muzaffarnagar. Cardiac arrest was suspected to be the cause of death. He advised parents to watch for warning signs such as fainting, breathlessness, chest discomfort and palpitations, and monitor children’s physical and mobile gaming activities.
His family members, who were present at home, noticed him lying on the floor after some time and rushed him to a primary health centre on 1 pm, where he was declared dead. Uttam Kumar was playing a game on mobile at his house in Noor Nagarian locality when he suddenly fell unconscious.