Rep. Casten says his daughter died from cardiac arrhythmia

Rep. Sean Casten (D-Ill.) revealed that his daughter’s death in June resulted from a cardiac arrhythmia in which her heart suddenly stopped. 

Casten tweeted a statement on Friday, saying that his family does not know what caused the arrhythmia and probably never will. 

He had announced in June that his daughter Gwen, 17, died peacefully in her sleep after the two of them and Casten’s wife, Kara, had dinner. He said at the time that his daughter was going to be a freshman at the University of Vermont this fall and was planning to study environmental science. 

The family said in their statement Friday that Gwen was a healthy teenager who ate well, exercised, had regular medical check-ups and was close with friends and family. They said she was fully vaccinated against COVID-19. 

“We are heartbroken, but we are not unique. Sudden, unexplained heart-failure among young, healthy people is rare but real,” they said. “We are left grasping at the wrong end of random chance.” 

The family said they’re grateful for the “outpouring of love” they have received in the past few months and for donations that have been given to the Downers Grove North Friends of Fine Arts, which supports art education, and March for Our Lives, two causes Gwen engaged in. 

“None of us know when our last heartbeat will come. 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,” they said.