Boy, 15, went to see GP with common symptom - he died the next day

A 'hardworking, gifted' boy visited his GP with a common symptom and died just a day later.

Joseph Gardiner passed away on July 31 after being rushed to hospital with a viral infection, Wales Online reports. The day before, the 15-year-old had visited his doctor suffering with shortness of breath.

The talented rugby player suffered a heart attack. Speaking on behalf of Joseph's family, and his parents John and Helen, family friend Adam Brooke said it was thought an undiagnosed heart defect contributed to his death.

Join our WhatsAp p Top Stories and Breaking News group by clicking this link.

Adam said: "It completely came out of the blue – there was no prior warning or anything."

Mr Brooke said that his son had been speaking to Joseph not long before he died and the teenager was in good spirits and hoped to be released from the hospital that evening. However, a short while later, Joseph suffered a heart attack which is thought to have be caused by the viral infection attacking his heart.

He said: "What [Joseph's family] have found out now is that he has had a heart defect since birth but nobody ever knew about it because he was never ill. Apparently this virus attacks the heart. If he didn't have the heart problem it would have just been a cough or a cold that would usually be fine but because of this heart condition [it was more serious]."

Mr Brooke is a member of Pyle RFC and his son played rugby with Joseph, who was recently named player of the year and was the captain of the under-16s team.

Mr Brooke said Joseph's sudden death had left his family "distraught". The teenager leaves behind his parents and seven siblings.

"It has just hit everyone for six. He was 15, fit and well, he was a talented rugby