A rare condition that was much more serious than doctors realised was the cause of Jay Fewtrell’s death, a post mortem has revealed.
The event promoter, who created the York Proms with his wife Rebecca Newman, died suddenly at their home in Shipton Road last month, aged 38.
Now the coroner has completed the investigation into his death, and Rebecca is sharing the results to answer the questions of his many friends.
Jay suffered a heart attack caused by his sarcoidosis, the coroner found following a post mortem. This is a rare autoimmune condition, which causes inflammation of the organs.
He had been diagnosed with sarcoidosis six weeks before, Rebecca said. It was found in his lungs, like 90% of cases.
“He would’ve continued to be monitored over the years to ensure it wasn’t affecting his other organs but we were hopeful he had a mild version of the disease and it would go away on its own, like a lot of cases do,” she said.
“Sadly, we now know he had a serious version of the disease, cardiac sarcoidosis, and the damage done by the disease was quite extensive.”
Lived life to the full
The damage to his heart caused an arrhythmia, which is a problem with the rate or rhythm of the heartbeat.
And that allowed a blood clot to form, causing the fatal cardiac arrest.
“In these circumstances, clots can form very quickly. Jay’s disease was advanced so the fact he was still so strong, fit and active is pretty incredible,” Rebecca said.
“Sarcoidosis usually goes away on its own or it can become chronic,” Rebecca told YorkMix.
“It can do a lot of damage and it explains a lot of symptoms he was having I’ve the years, but thankfully it hadn’t yet really affected his quality of life and he was still living life to the full.”
Jay and Rebecca had a three-year-old son, Logan.
On Facebook she said: “I’m grateful he could be spared the knowledge and enjoy his final weeks on Earth setting up his new business, spending time with Logan and me, and seeing friends.
“It can do a lot of damage and it explains a lot of symptoms he was having over the years – but thankfully it hadn’t yet really affected his quality of life and he was still living life to the full.”
Jay was laid to rest on 2 September. The funeral included a procession through York, featuring bikers, Vikings, sunflowers and lots of friends.