A 26-year-old woman died from a heart attack caused by an ‘extremely rare’ heart condition that affects only 12 people in the UK every year.

Now Donna-Marie Stansfield’s family have vowed to get themselves checked for the condition after hearing at her inquest that it is likely to be genetic.

Her distraught family was told at the hearing yesterday that she suffered from arrhythmic right ventricular dysplasia (ARVD), a condition which she was not aware of and which experts said can lay totally undetected until death.

Donna-Marie, of Brownhill Avenue, Burnley, died in Royal Blackburn Hospital on September 4 while she was recovering from an illness caused by Crohn’s disease, an inflammatory bowel condition which she suffered from.

The inquest heard how she was diagnosed with the disease eight years ago but post-mortem examinations revealed that it was unlikely that Crohn’s disease contributed to her death.

Her father Ian Stansfield said: “She was so young and it has been such a shock. It has made us all think about our own health now and we have to get checked.”

Lancashire Telegraph’s resident doctor Tom Smith said: “ARVD is an extremely rare congenital heart condition of which there are usually less than 12 cases a year in the UK.

“The condition is usually more common in babies after birth and sometimes in professional footballers.

“The condition means that the heart has not been formed properly when she has been growing and caused various abnormalities including the build up of fatty deposits.”

Her father Ian Stansfield said:”We were totally shocked and devastated when she died. She had been saying that she had never felt better in the weeks running up to her admittance into hospital.

“Donna was such a lovely, bright, bubbly, fun girl who didn’t let her illness define her. She loved all the things that you would expect a young girl to like, shopping, clubbing and spending time with her boyfriend Danny and his daughter Chloe.

“She was really looking forward to moving in with Danny and also becoming an auntie next year, as her brother’s partner is expecting.

“She had always suffered from set-backs because of her illness, she was unable to finish her A-levels and a dental nurse course because of admittance into hospital, but she never let it get her down.”

Donna had been a former pupil at Rosehill Primary School and Gawthorpe High School, before working at Oddies bakers before progressing to a managerial role.

Pathologist Dr Mark Sissons of Blackpool Victoria Hospital, who conducted the Post Mortem examination, told the inquest: ”The only abnormality that I could find with any of her organs was in her heart.

“There was an excessive amount of fat built up in her heart, this was caused by a heart condition called arrhythmic right ventricular dsyplasia that she could have been born with, or could have developed as she got older or could be something that may run in the family.”

Dr Sissons said that her heart problem were likely to have been underlying for a number of years.

Michael Singleton, coroner for Blackburn, Hyndburn and the Ribble Valley gave a verdict of death by natural causes.

Donna leaves her father Ian, mother Sharon, brothers Christopher, 24 and Ashley, 18 and father’s partner June.

The family are hoping to plant a tree in her memory with a plaque at Crown Point, Burnley.

Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Dysplasia

• Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Dysplasia is a disorder of the heart in which the muscle of the right ventricle is replaced by fat and causes abnormal heart rhythms.

Many people do not know they have ARVD because the symptoms are similar to heart palpitation, which are a normal response to fright or exertion ARVD is a genetic, heritable condition where an affected person has a chance of passing on a specific gene change to his or her children.

Sevilla and Spanish international left wing-back Antonio Puerta, 22, died from the condition