Sean Casten - the US representative for Illinois's 6th congressional district - has released a statement following the untimely death of his 17-year-old daughter.
Per CBS News, teenager Gwen Casten died peacefully in her sleep on June 13.
Earlier that evening, she had enjoyed dinner with her parents before going out with friends.
Now, her father and the rest of the Casten family has taken to social media to release a statement on his daughter's passing and what caused her unexpected death.
"This past June, our daughter, Gwen Casten, died of a sudden cardiac arrhythmia. In layman’s terms, she was fine, and then her heart stopped," the Casten family said in their statement.
"Gwen was a healthy 2022 teenager," the family writes. "She ate well, exercised, got regular check-ups, didn't suffer from any behavioral health issues, and had close relationships with family and friends.
"She was fully vaccinated, and quarantined after occasional positive, asymptomatic COVID tests during the omicron wave. She had just come home from an evening with friends, went to bed and didn't wake up."
The statement continues: "We are heartbroken, but we are not unique. Sudden, unexplained heart-failure among young, healthy people is rare but real. We are left grasping at the wrong end of random chance."
Indeed, per the Daily Mail, the CDC reports that approximately 2,000 young and healthy people under the age of 25 die of sudden cardiac arrest every year in the US.
Additionally, millions of people are affected by cardiac arrhythmia in the US. The most common type of arrhythmia is atrial fibrillation - also known as AFib - which is attributed to around 150,000 deaths in the nation each year.
The family's heartbreaking statement adds: "We are grateful for the outpouring of love we've received over these past months. We've cried again over each of your letters, messages, meals, and flowers, but they are appreciated. We are also grateful for the donations to the Downers Grove North Friends of Fine Arts and March for Our Lives, causes that Gwen was actively engaged in during high school.
"It is a comfort to know how many lives Gwen touched over her 17 years."
"She had a big, beautiful, kind, loving heart. And it stopped, as all must," the statement continues. "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.
"So 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."
Our thoughts go out to Gwen Casten's family and friends at this time.
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