Killed by a video game: Excitement 'triggered fatal cardiac arrest of teenager who died while playing his Xbox'

Jake Gallagher, 16, collapsed while playing his favourite video game

Revived by paramedics but died after spending two days on life support

Teenager found to have had Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome

His mother calling for mandatory heart screening for young people

Sudden death syndrome: Jake Gallagher suffered a cardiac arrest while playing on his Xbox

A teenager has died after suffering a cardiac arrest while he was playing a game on his Xbox.

Jake Gallagher, 16, was playing Sonic the Hedgehog on the console when his mother Sarah Pyatt believes he became excited, triggering an undiagnosed heart condition.

He collapsed at his grandmother Irene Gallagher's house in April and was taken to hospital where he died two days later after being declared brain dead.

Mrs Pyatt, 46, said doctors told her Jake had Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome.

'Sonic the Hedgehog was his favourite. He would get over-excited, jumping up and down, screaming at the screen,' she told the Sun.

The teenager was rushed to Watford General Hospital, but doctors said his brain had been starved of oxygen.

Professor Sanjay Sharma, of St George's Hospital in South West London, said: 'There is a definite risk in predisposed young people playing video games that causes surges of adrenalin in the blood.'

Jake, who had Asperger's Syndrome, had not had heart screening, which has not been made compulsory by the government.

His mother has now joined charity Cardiac Risk in the Young in calling on the government to make screening mandatory in young people.

'It's so important families are aware - they can avoid losing their child like I lost Jake,' she said.

Grief: Jake's mother Sarah Pyatt, seen centre with her family holding up photographs of the teenager, wants the government to introduce heart screening for young people

Sudden: Jake had been playing a Sonic the Hedgehog game on an Xbox console while visiting his grandmother when he collapsed