'Hidden condition killed my super fit brother'

The family of a Worcestershire man who died while exercising are raising awareness of the hidden genetic condition that killed him.

Stu Grant died from an AVM, or arteriovenous malformation, after suffering a seizure at the David Lloyd gym near Sixways in Worcester in March. He was 36.

His brother, James Grant, said: "He was super fit, super healthy, and probably the healthiest person we knew, which is why it's so shocking."

According to Bromsgrove GP Jonathon Leach, the condition is "completely symptomless" and in many cases is only found incidentally, such as during an MRI scan.

He said: "The issue is, in many cases until someone gets symptoms or sadly gets a bleed, particularly if it's in a strategic location, such as around the brain, we just don't know.

"What happens now is that, in many cases, we can see them, but until something happens, they are completely symptomless."

Jodie Grant, Stu's sister, said: "Stu collapsed at the gym. He said he didn't feel very well.

"He then had a seizure and was sick, and this was all very quick - the timing of a heartbeat, the consultant told us.

"It was unrelated to his gym workout. An ambulance took him to Worcestershire Royal, which was minutes away.

"He was given a brain scan, and they knew straight away it was this genetic condition of AVM.

"Where Stu's was, it was right next to his brain stem, so he died. It was catastrophic."

James added: "It's not something we ever thought we'd be dealing with.

"There were no warning signs with Stu; he was just at the gym where he spent a lot of his time."

He explained that a consultant had told the family an AVM can occur anywhere in the body, but, unfortunately for Stu, his had been in the middle of his brain.

"When that erupted there wasn't much chance for him," he said.

"The consultant showed us the brain scans in the hospital, and you could see the damage that had been done immediately.

"There was nothing anyone could do."

Stu was also an organ donor and, since his death, has helped save the lives of three people.

"He managed to do that selfless act and save the lives of others, and that was just Stu in a nutshell," James said.

"He was very caring, very compassionate, and very dedicated and self-disciplined. It's just trying to come to terms with him not being here anymore."

Some of Stu's family recently climbed Mount Snowdon to raise money for The Butterfly AVM, a charity that supports people affected by the condition.

So far, they have raised £3,600 of their £4,000 target.

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