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Fresher dies of heart failure

First year engineering student Chao Cao, of St Hilda’s College, has died of a sudden heart failure. He was found in the shower on Thursday 27 October.

Known to former schoolmates as Bryan Cao, his Facebook page has since been flooded with friends’ comments. In an email to St Hilda’s students, college Principal Sheila Forbes said that “he was taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital but sadly they were unable to revive him, and he died at 1.30pm.”

College became a sombre place in the aftermath of the news. The chapel was opened for quiet reflection, and the Chaplain led prayers in the SCR at 8.00pm that evening. “If there was any consolation in this tragedy, it was the profound sense of community during the service,” one undergraduate at St Hilda’s told Cherwell.

The Oxford University Chinese Society held their own series of prayer events at the college the next day, Friday 28 October, while a commemoration service was held at St Hilda’s last night, 3 November.

Dr Margaret Kean, Dean of St Hilda’s College commented on the solidarity felt amongst college members following Chao’s death, telling Cherwell, “We are a community united in grief, and one that has shown remarkable dignity and discretion in dealing with the situation.”

JCR President Sarah Finch also expressed feelings of gratitude for what she said was “an admirable reaction among the undergraduate body, proving how close-knit we are as a college.”

A board was set up in the foyer of the Jacqueline du Pré Music Building for Chao’s friends to write tributes, one message saying, “Chao, I’ve only been friends with you for a few weeks now, but I could tell you were going to be one of the best.”

Professor Guy Houlsby, Head of the Engineering Department sent an email to all engineering students yesterday announcing the tragic news. In it he said, “I understand that whilst very rare, such unexpected conditions occur occasionally in young men.” “His family, who are in Shanghai, have been informed of this sad news and will be travelling to Oxford. I am sure staff and students in Engineering Science would join me in extending our sympathy to them and to Chao’s friends at this difficult time.”

St John’s second year Siyi Hao, a fellow engineer who went to sixth form college with Chao, commented, “Chao was a quiet and smart lad. He had always been careful and considerate to his friends, and his humorous character always lightened up everyone around him. Chao struck me as an extremely hard-working person as well when we talked about his preparation for Oxford interviews. He put a great deal of effort in everything he worked on, and the results were always near perfection.

“The tragedy has stunned every one of his friends, and many of them came to pay tribute to him. The length of a life is limited and he had achieved so much during his 20 years. I hope he had no regret when he left, and his parents, sister and girlfriend can go through this tragedy peacefully together.” Those wishing to add their messages to the remembrance board can leave them at the St Hilda’s Porters’ Lodge.

Sudden Death Syndrome is the term used to encompass the many different causes of heart arrhythmias in young people, which can sometimes cause a sudden death. There are 11 major causes of unexpected cardiac death in the young, the leading cause being hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), a condition associated with high levels of sports and activities.

About 10,000 British people are known to have HCM, but many more are believed to have the potentially life threatening condition without realising it. Charities such as Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) aim to raise awareness of such conditions and to promote “good practice and screening facilities devoted to significantly reduce the frequency of young sudden cardiac death throughout the UK.”

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