Girl’s heart condition missed three times

Reporter: ANNA CLARKE
Date published: 06 August 2012


A 12-YEAR-OLD girl who collapsed and died on holiday might be alive to dy if doctors had detected a treatable heart condition three years ago.

An inquest into the death of Jordan Jones of Greenacres heard doctors carried out three tests on her

heart when she collapsed in 2007 — but failed each time to spot a “rare but recognisable” condition.

Jordan, a pupil at Counthill Secondary School, died in August, 2010 on holiday in Corfu with her grandfather, Brian Jones.

The inquest at Rochdale Coroner’s Court heard the youngster first displayed the symptoms of Long QT Syndrome — the heart relaxes for too long between beats — when she collapsed during a school choir concert at the age of nine.

She was taken to Booth Hall Children’s Hospital for tests, none of which helped doctors to diagnose her problem.

Consultant cardiologist Dr Michael Coup later found her mother, Emma, had the same condition, and rechecked results from Jordan’s original tests. He told the court: “I would have expected a registrar to recognise an abnormality.”

Coroner Simon Nelson said: “Her condition definitely went unrecognised and untreated. It’s highly likely that her death would have been averted had a referral been made.”


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