An English woman has died of a 'broken heart' just weeks after the death of her 10-year-old son.
Ashley Tomlin, 32, died on Monday (local time) of a ruptured heart artery - the same affliction that killed her young son.
Jak Fada was diagnosed with a hole in his heart when he was three months old. He died on November 6 (local time) after complaining of chest pains.
Less than a day earlier, Jak's great-grandfather had also died.
It is now being investigated whether the three family members suffered from a hereditary heart condition. Their surviving relatives will be tested to evaluate their own risk.
Following her son's death, Ms Tomlin told ChronicleLive that her "whole world has just caved in".
"We thought the pain in his chest might have been from losing his great-grandad. It's ironic it was his heart because Jak had the biggest heart."
Ms Tomlin suffered a seizure while she was staying at her mother's house. Paramedics were unable to revive her, and her cause of death was ruled a "massive heart attack".
Her father, Keith Tomlin, told ChronicleLive that it was grief that killed his daughter.
"[The coroner] told me he wishes they could put 'broken heart' on the death certificate, because that is basically what it was."
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