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Cause unclear in death of teacher
A YOUNG teacher died after a cardiac arrest brought on either by her bulimia or an under-active thyroid problem.
Lisa Hunt (31), of Whittington, Peterborough, died on August 10, 2011.
Her inquest at Peterborough Town Hall yesterday found that her heart attack was caused by an electrolyte-deficiency called hypokalemia, which meant she had very low levels of potassium in her system.
However, a post-mortem carried out by Peterborough City Hospital consultant pathologist Dr Maria Gertenbach could not find whether the hypokalemia was caused by hyperthyroidism or bulimia, both of which Miss Hunt suffered from.
A teacher at Arthur Mellows Village College, her mother Theresa told the inquest that she had suspicions about her daughter’s bulimia, but did not know for sure.
Miss Hunt did however confide in her sister Rebecca about the eating disorder, which had gone on for more than a year before her death.
Evidence from Miss Hunt’s GP revealed that after undergoing several blood tests, she had been prescribed thyroxine, which is designed to counter the low-electrolyte count caused by hyperthyroidism.
However, the inquest heard, Miss Hunt did not take the medication as she did not believe her doctors had correctly identified her symptoms.
Coroner Gordon Ryall recorded a narrative verdict.
He said: “She was very young and the sad thing is she needed help and to an extent she was getting it, but she was not really taking the help given to her. Perhaps if she had been more open with it there would have been plenty of support from her family and friends.”
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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