My son might still be alive if he’d had a health check

11:10am Friday 15th August 2008

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THE mother of a Hampshire doorman who died suddenly from a mystery heart condition has urged young people to get regular health checks.

Speaking at an inquest into the death of her son, Susan Hoy said he might still be alive today if he had done so.

Southampton Coroner's Court heard that James De La Hoy, a bouncer at Italian restaurant and club La Margherita in Town Quay, Southampton, had been admitted to hospital on April 28 with breathing problems.

Despite being very fit with a passion for bodybuilding, the 29-year-old's condition rapidly deteriorated and he died three days later on May 1 from heart failure.

Mrs Hoy said: "If James had had a health check in the months leading up to his death he might still be here.

"A check just might have flagged something up that he wouldn't have known about.

"I would urge all young people to have a health check once a year.

"It's too late for James now but it isn't too late for the millions of other young people out there."

The court heard that doctors had been baffled by Mr De La Hoy's condition and, despite their best efforts, could not prevent him deteriorating further.

Pathologist Adrian Bateman said a post mortem showed Mr De La Hoy's heart was enlarged but failed to identify a definite cause of death.

Samples were also sent to cardiac experts at Royal Brompton Hospital in London but they too could not say for sure what had killed Mr De La Hoy.

Following Mr De La Hoy's death, the Daily Echo's website was flooded with tributes to the popular bouncer.

La Margherita owner Nikos Raftopoulos said: "James was an absolute gentleman. He was an example of a great doorman. Every single one of our customers loved James.

Sean McCarthy, a compliance officer at Securidoor UK Ltd, who worked closely with James for eight years, said: "James was the complete opposite of a stereotypical doorman - he really bucked the trend."

Mrs Hoy, of Gosport, said more research would now be carried out into rare heart diseases including Brugada syndrome, which affects people in south east Asia, as Mr De La Hoy, of Hawkswood Road, Bitterne Manor, Southampton, was half Malaysian.

Coroner Keith Wiseman said: "This was a death of someone very young and a tragedy for everyone involved."

A verdict of death due to natural causes was recorded.