The son of former Manchester United footballer Mark Hughes died from sudden adult death syndrome (SADS), a coroner has determined. Alex Hughes, 38, was found collapsed at his home in Macclesfield, Cheshire, on June 19 by his two sons.
Paramedics were unable to revive him. His inquest heard that Alex Hughes followed his father into football, holding recruitment roles at clubs including Grimsby Town and Manchester City.
Following his death, Mark Hughes and his wife Jill released a statement expressing their devastation over the "sudden and unexpected loss of our beloved son."
Sudden adult death syndrome, also known as sudden arrhythmic syndrome, is diagnosed when the cause of an otherwise unexplained death is not revealed in a post-mortem examination due to the heart's normal structure. Approximately 500 people in the UK are affected by SADS each year. The British Heart Foundation states that SADS typically occurs when an abnormal heart rhythm goes untreated, leading to cardiac arrest. Inherited heart conditions are often the underlying cause if the individual is unaware they have one.