Footballer, 17, dies after cardiac arrest signs missed

Failure to identify the signs of cardiac arrest contributed to the death of a teenage footballer, an inquest has concluded.

Adam Ankers, 17, had been playing for Wycombe Wanderers Foundation's under-19s team on 31 January 2024 when he shouted his chest was tight and fell unconscious in the second half.

After being attended to by paramedics, the teenager was taken to Harefield Hospital, where he died four days later, having suffered brain damage.

Valerie Charbit, assistant coroner to the West London Coroner's court, said: "There was a missed opportunity to deliver basic life support for Adam."

Adam had died from an inherited heart condition, arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy, that had not been diagnosed at the time of his death.

On the call to a 999 operator, he could be heard making "gurgling noises" and breathing faintly, but the handler recorded his breathing as "normal".

According to the coroner, the teenager showed signs of agonal breathing, a feature consistent with cardiac arrest, that was not recognised.

The inquest found his death was "more than minimally" contributed to by a failure to identify these signs, as nobody attempted to perform CPR or use a defibrillator.

A defibrillator has been brought to the pitch but not used after confusion over whether it could be used safely on a teenager, which it could.

The coroner called for the FA to make sudden cardiac arrest training mandatory for "at least one person" on the football pitch, particularly coaches and referees.

Changes to the NHS telephone system mean CPR is now required after an individual suddenly collapses during sport or exercise.

In a statement the teenager's parents thanked the coroner for considering issuing a prevention of future deaths report to organisation including the Football Association, NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care.

They said: "Adam's death has had a devastating impact on his family and friends.

"We hope that all the organisations and people touched by this inquest will learn and improve."

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