A WINDERMERE mother this week described the devastation' of finding her 20-year-old university student son dead, following an almost-undetectable disturbance of the normal rhythm of his heart.

Denise Brown, a consultant in food therapy, was speaking during Arrhythmia Awareness Week, which ends on Wednesday (May 19).

An arrhythmia is an abnormality of the heartbeat that can be too fast, too slow or irregular. Mrs Brown said she only found out about the link between this and the death of her son, Matthew, when she joined the Sudden Adult Death Syndrome Foundation that supports those affected by sudden death due to heart rhythm abnormalities.

Matthew was 21, a third year student at Glasgow University, when he came home in April, 2000, "a bit fed up" with university life, said his mother. He was taking the drug Prozac for depression, but otherwise was in perfect health.

One evening, his parents and his two younger brothers and younger sister went to bed, leaving him watching a video. When his father wakened at 3am, he went downstairs and found Matthew dead. "He was in a relaxed position with no signs of pain or struggle," said Mrs Brown. "It was devastating."

She was told by a doctor who examined her son that he suspected a cardiac arrhythmia was the cause of death, but it was unlikely that they would ever know what really happened. At the inquest, cause of death was given as sudden adult death syndrome and acute heart failure.

Mrs Brown said: "Other young people have died in South Lakeland since Matthew from arrhythmias. Nationally, up to 400 people aged between 13 and 35 die each year as a result of SADS."

The awareness week was to make people aware that steps can be taken to reduce the risk of death, and to call for increased research into the causes.

Mrs Brown explained: "An arrhythmia can be inherited and is in the genes, or it can be acquired, possibly by taking prescribed drugs or other medication. It can show itself by scarcely discernable symptoms including palpitations or a racing heart, or sudden unexplained fainting spells. People with these symptoms should see a doctor for a check-up. There are up to 700,000 people in this country with cardiac arrhythmias which are potentially life-threatening."

Treatments include: simple reassurances that palpitations can often be quite harmless,; avoiding alcohol or coffee; a course of anti-arrhythmics; receiving electrical shock treatment through a defibrillator; and being fitted with a pacemaker.

The awareness week is supported by the actor Sir Roger Moore who suffered a form of arrhythmia while on stage in New York.