Teenage girl dies of heart attack

Abu Dhabi: The family of a 17-year-old schoolgirl is unable to come to terms with the fact that their daughter, who never had any serious medical problems in the past, died of heart attack.

Nazneen Nasser, a 12th grader, felt an uneasiness while resting in her bedroom over the weekend — but was pronounced dead on arrival at a clinic close to her home within a few minutes, her father told Gulf News yesterday.

“We all were taking rest at home on Friday afternoon. Her younger sister told us Nazneen was vomiting and we immediately took her to Khalidiya clinic. But doctors said she had already died of a cardiac arrest,” said Abdul Nasser, an Indian.

Her death certificate cited the cause of death as “cardiac respiratory arrest”.

Nazneen’s father said his daughter never had any serious medical problems in the past. “Like any other children she might have normal diseases like fever or cold, that’s all.”

He said Nazneen was always active in her life.

She was a grade 12 pupil at Indian Islahi Islamia School in Abu Dhabi. She is survived by two younger sisters — Ezaila Nasser, a ninth grader at the same school and Nyla Naser, fourth grade pupil at Sherwood Academy in Abu Dhabi.

Her father is a creative director at a prominent advertising agency in the capital.

Nazneen always excelled in her studies and extracurricular activities, a family friend said. “She was a talented girl and friendly to everyone. So it’s so painful to everyone who met her even once in life,” Beeran Kutty said.

Nazneen used to dance and sing at get-togethers organised by her father’s college alumni association in the capital.

“She was always a pleasant presence at such gatherings. We will miss her a lot,” said Jayan Balakrishnan, a family friend.

Her body was repatriated on Monday and burial is to take place in the family hometown of Thrissur in southern Indian state of Kerala on Tuesday.