A 34-year-old female footballer suffered from anxiety and died following an emergency call to the ambulance. She had’really fast heartbeat’. Inquest hearings

  • Kay Meredith Hughes (34), suffered an unexplained seizure at her house on August 4, 2009.
  • She called 911 to report that she couldn’t breathe and was suffering from severe chest pains.
  • Although paramedics raced to the house of her in Folkestone Kent, she was not saved. 
  • Hawkinge Town Ladies Recreational Football players paid tribute to her
  • A narrative conclusion was reached by an inquest, but the cause of the seizure is not known.  










An investigation has revealed that an anxiety-prone female footballer died from a sudden seizure in her house.

Kay Meredith Hughes (34), who was part of Hawkinge Town Ladies Recreational Football Club complained that her heart rate was rapidly.

Anna, Anna’s spouse called an ambulance when she was struggling to breath and as her chest pains increased.

Paramedics arrived at the address of Mrs Meredith Hughes and administered CPR. A shock was attempted using a defibrillator. However, Mrs Meredith Hughes could not be saved. Tragically, she died at her home. 

Yesterday’s Maidstone Coroner’s Court inquest revealed that a toxicology report said: “The sudden arrhythmia was not caused by clear evidence.

“She suffered from a cardiac rhythmia for some reason. It is unclear why. But it’s safe to assume that these occurred at some point.”

Kay Meredith-Hughes (centre), 34, suffered a sudden seizure at her home in Folkestone, Kent, on August 4 and could not be saved, despite paramedics' best efforts

Kay Meredith Hughes, 34 (centre), suffered an uncontrollable seizure on August 4. She was at home in Folkestone Kent and couldn’t be saved.

Mrs Meredith Hughes reported that she had suffered from a nonepileptic attack at 11:01 AM and was complaining to Anna about her pains.

They went to sleep at 10 p.m. on August 3, and then watched a movie together.

Mrs Meredith Hughes was reported to have woken up at 5.30 am the day after, something that was unusual.

South East Coast Ambulance received Kay’s call at 6.49am August 4. She had complained about a shortness of breath, chest pains and struggling to breathe.

Although Mrs Meredith Hughes appeared to be awake and alert when paramedics arrived at the home of her mother, they were unable to speak.  

According to a neuropsychiatrist, a non-epileptic seizure is not epilepsy. When people are unable to deal with intense emotions, it can cause a non-epileptic attack.

The inquest into Mrs Meredith-Hughes' death gave a narrative conclusion, as assistant coroner Sonia Hayes said it couldn't be determined how she had suffered the seizure

Inquest into the death of Mrs Meredith Hughes came to a conclusion. Assistant coroner Sonia Hayes stated that it was impossible to determine how her seizure occurred.

According to the report, Mrs Meredith Hughes had suffered episodes of collapses since 2012 but she had taken steps towards taking care of herself.

According to a GP, she had a non-epileptic attack syndrome. This disorder is thought to be due depression or anxiety.

On July 6, she was last seen and reported mild symptoms of anxiety and mood swings following her father’s death.

Mrs Meredith Hughes did not show any self-harm signs and was therefore prescribed Fluoxetine (an antidepressant).

Sonia Hayes (assistant coroner) stated that while this might be described as natural death, she felt it important to make a narrative conclusion. I don’t know how.

“The cause of death was not established. It is evident that Fluoxetine didn’t cause the disease, but it could have been caused by a fatty liver change.

Kay Meredith-Hughes, pictured second from right in front row, was part of Hawkinge Town Ladies Recreational Football Club. Her team mates paid an emotional tribute to her after her death, with a friendly football match in her memory.

Kay Meredith Hughes (pictured in the front row second from right) was part of Hawkinge Town Ladies Recreational Football Club. After her passing, her teammates honored her with an informal football match.

Following the death of Mrs Meredith Hughes, Hawkinge Town Ladies Recreational Football Club offered an emotional tribute.

The club shared the following Facebook post: “Today we bid our farewells to Kay Meredith Hughes, our team mate and our friend.”

“What is a better way to do it than playing football?”

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