Doctors are still unsure why a nine-year-old girl suffered a fatal cardiac arrest, but a coroner believes it could be a “silent disease” that is difficult to diagnose.
The death of New Zealand schoolgirl Taya Awhina Kauri in February 2019 has been reviewed by coroner Amelia Steel, who published her findings on Friday.
The nine-year-old ‘princess’ woke up on the morning of her death complaining of chest pains, rapid heartbeat and burning in the chest.
Her mother, Monique Kauri, later told New Zealand news outlet Stuff that she initially thought her daughter was simply anxious about going to school.
Taya was rushed to Papakura Accident and Emergency Clinic in South Auckland where her heart rate was measured to be more than double her normal resting rate.
The nine-year-old girl was taken by ambulance to Middlemore Hospital where she suffered cardiac arrest and tragically died in ICU.
Coroner Steel found Taya had been a healthy child until 2018, when she began experiencing severe migraines, shortness of breath and fatigue.
She ruled the cause of Taya’s death was “sudden cardiac death and hypertrophy and dilation of the right ventricle (a fluid-filled chamber) of the heart.” New Zealand Herald reported.
New Zealand schoolgirl Taya Awhina Kauri died aged nine from cardiac arrest in February 2019
Right heart enlargement is usually caused by lung disease that blocks blood flow to the lungs.
However, the forensic pathologist who performed Taya’s autopsy was unable to determine the cause of the right ventricular dilation and hypertrophy.
However, she discovered that Taya’s heart weighed twice as much as that of a girl her age.
Coroner Steel suggested Taya may have suffered from primary pulmonary hypertension, a type of high blood pressure that affects the arteries in the lungs and the right side of the heart.
He said the “surprisingly silent disease” is often difficult to diagnose because the symptoms, which include decreased exercise tolerance, shortness of breath, chest pain and fainting or near-fainting, are not specific to any particular condition.
Pediatrician Dr. Nicholas Baker said Taya’s doctors did not consider the diagnosis of a rare and incurable disease at the time.
A review of Tara’s electrocardiogram (ECG) from 2018 showed signs of right ventricular overload, which could have led to the diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension.
Taya’s family has set up a trust in her memory to provide Christmas hampers to families in need and to support parents grieving the loss of a child.
In her findings, Coroner Steel also noted: “Dr Baker agrees with the other reports that unfortunately an early diagnosis would not likely have opened up treatment options that would have significantly prolonged Taya’s life.”
The coroner decided not to hold an inquest into Taya’s death as all the medical evidence had been considered and there were no suspicious circumstances.
Taya’s family has created a charity. The Awhina Trust In his memory.
“Taya was a generous, caring and thoughtful nine-year-old girl whose presence made the world a better place,” reads the Trust’s page on the Givealittle fundraising website.
‘To honour her life and legacy, The Awhina Trust has been established with two core aims: to provide support to those experiencing hardship through a holiday hamper programme and to create a caring and supportive community for parents processing the grief of losing a child.’