'She was fine, and then her heart stopped': Illinois Rep. Sean Casten reveals healthy daughter, 17, died from rare cardiac arrhythmia in her sleep in June - family has been left 'grasping at the wrong end of a random chance'

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Illinois Democratic congressman Sean Casten has revealed his daughter Gwen, 17, died in her sleep from a cardiac arrhythmia, a rare heart condition that may have no symptoms. 

'This past June, our daughter, Gwen Casten, died of a sudden cardiac arrythmia. In layman’s terms, she was fine, and then her heart stopped,' said the Casten family in a statement. 

A cardiac arrhythmia, which means an irregular heartbeat, 'can feel like a fluttering or racing heart and may be harmless' according to the Mayo Clinic, while others can be life-threatening.

'We don’t know what caused the arrhythmia, and likely never will,' Casten said. 

Gwen died peacefully in her sleep after having dinner with her parents and then going out with friends. 

'Sudden, unexplained heart-failure among young, healthy people is rare but real. We are left grasping at the wrong end of a random chance,' the family's statement read. 

'She had a big, beautiful, kind, loving heart. And it stopped, as all must.'

Gwen died peacefully in her sleep after having dinner with her parents and then going out with friends. 'She had a big, beautiful, kind, loving heart. And it stopped, as all must'

'This past June, our daughter, Gwen Casten, died of a sudden cardiac arrythmia. In layman’s terms, she was fine, and then her heart stopped,' said the Casten family in a statement. 'We don’t know what caused the arrhythmia, and likely never will'

Casten's family said Gwen was a normal, healthy teenager and had been vaccinated against COVID-19. 

The statement said she 'ate well, exercised, got regular check-ups and didn't suffer from any behavioral health issues.'

'We are heartbroken, but not unique,' they said, referencing the fact millions of people are affected by cardiac arrhythmia in the US each year.

The most common type of arrhythmia is an atrial fibrillation, or AFib. AFibs are attributed to 150,000 deaths every year.

According to the CDC, about 2,000 young, healthy people under the age of 25 die of sudden cardiac arrest in the United States each year  

Such sudden fatal events are still rare in people under 35, according to the Mayo Clinic, but are 'more common in males than in females.'

'When sudden death occurs in adolescents and young adults, it's sometimes due to undiagnosed heart conditions such as a genetic heart disease. The undetected heart problem may cause a young person to suddenly die during physical activity, such as playing competitive sports. However, sometimes sudden cardiac death can occur without exertion.' 

According to HealthyChildren.org, 'some young people who suffer SCA may have previously experienced heart-related symptoms, such as shortness of breath, chest pain, or fainting that weren't thought to be anything life-threatening. 

'Others never had any symptoms of heart problems until the SCA event.'

Casten noted in his statement that Gwen 'had just come home from an evening with friends, went to bed and didn't wake up.'

He said his daughter was looking forward to becoming a college student at the University of Vermont in the fall. 

'None of us know when our last heartbeat will come,' it read. 'The best we can hope for is that when our loved ones do pass, we will have no regrets about the time we were lucky enough to share.'

The heartbreaking statement concludes with 'hug the folks you love a little harder today. Be present in their lives. And spread your love a little farther. Because in the end, it's all that remains.'

Gwen was following in her father's footsteps as a political activist prior to her sudden death, with the representative gushing with pride as he spoke about her just a few days prior to her passing. 

He told Newsy how he had 'tremendous pride' in her after she took the initiative to organize a 'Stop the Bleed' training at her school so that children could learn how to pack a gunshot wound during a school shooting.  

 'We are heartbroken, but not unique,' the family said, referencing the fact millions of people are affected by cardiac arrhythmia in the US each year. Casten said his daughter (center left) was looking forward to becoming a college student at the University of Vermont in the fall

 Gwen was following in her father's footsteps as a political activist before her sudden death. She is seen here with her father, Rep. Sean Casten, at a pride event Sean Casten

Gwen also served as a co-director of the March For Our Lives Illinois chapter, a youth-led movement aimed at tackling gun violence. Following the Capitol insurrection last year, Gwen worked with her father to co-write an article about the impact it had on them both

'None of us know when our last heartbeat will come,' the family statement read. 'The best we can hope for is that when our loved ones do pass, we will have no regrets about the time we were lucky enough to share'

'I have both tremendous pride that my daughter took the initiative to organize that and tremendous shame that we as a country are making it the responsibility of children aged 15, 16 and 17 to do what sitting United States senators don't have the courage to do themselves,' Rep. Casten, 50, told Newsy.

Gwen also served as a co-director of the March For Our Lives Illinois chapter, a youth-led movement aimed at tackling gun violence. Following the Capitol insurrection last year, Gwen worked with her father to co-write an article about the impact it had on them both.

At the time, Casten was in his office in Washington DC and Gwen was in school in Illinois.  She described her fear at learning that her father had been told to put gas masks on.

Gwen appeared in a campaign ad for her father weeks before her death, along with her mother Kara and sister Audrey, 14. 

The 30-second video featured Gwen blowing out birthday candles at the family's Downers Grove home in suburban Chicago, saying: 'Eighteen, a big year, lots of milestones, like voting for the first time. But not just for anyone.'

Gwen, who was only 17 when she died, appeared in a campaign ad for her father weeks before her death where she pretended to celebrate her eighteenth birthday, and spoke about the milestones she was looking forward to

The video ends with Gwen sitting down for family dinner with her father, mother and sister

She went on to discuss her father's platform, saying he is 'working to pass real gun reform, like universal background checks, to protect our neighborhoods and our classrooms,' and is 'fighting to make sure women can make their own health care choices.'

'Sean Casten, my congressman,' Gwen concludes in the video, as she is filmed sitting down to family dinner. 'But I just call him, Dad.'

In his statement after her death, Casten said of his daughter: 'If her light seemed a bit brighter than most it was because she was so generous in reflecting back the light and love that so many gave to her.'