Undiagnosed heart condition possible cause of 7-year-old's death

The sudden death of a 7-year-old girl was possibly due to an underlying heart condition. Photo / File

A 7-year-old West Coast girl who suddenly died while laughing with her parents may have had an underlying heart condition.

Jordyn Jarvis was sitting in bed talking and laughing when her heart suddenly stopped, Fairfax reported.

Her parents, Lauren Jarvis and Amber Howard, started CPR straight away and called an ambulance to their Greymouth home but she couldn't be revived.

"One minute she was there and the next minute she was not," Howard said.

"We didn't see it coming. There was nothing we could do.

"[The paramedics] worked on her for an hour and a half but her heart just stopped and they couldn't restart it."

Jordyn had a gastro bug the week of her death, followed by a head cold, but there was no warning anything was seriously wrong. It is thought she had an undiagnosed heart condition.

Jarvis said her daughter was a popular girl with lots of friends who dreamed of being a singer.

Howard cannot believe her little girl is gone.

"It's so quiet without her. She was always on the go. The only time she was quiet was when she was drawing pictures or writing. She would always write us letters and cards telling us how much she loved us or missed me if I was away for work. She was adorable."