Sudden Death Of SRVUSD Grad Spurs Mom To Launch Awareness Campaign In Danville

DANVILLE, CA — A San Ramon mother will launch a community awareness program next week to prevent Danville parents from experiencing the "unbearable pain" that she and her family felt when her son died unexpectedly at the age of 26, she said.

Renee Maler will host a virtual meeting Tuesday night to educate San Ramon Valley Unified School District families about sudden arrhythmic death, which is caused by a genetic condition.

The meeting will come almost exactly two years after her son, Jordan Daniel Maler, apparently died in his sleep. The 2011 Dougherty Valley High School graduate was found in his Oakland apartment.

"As his Mom, the only way to survive is to find meaning in the tragic loss of him and to help others by bringing awareness to the causes of this preventable death," she told Patch in an email.

The six conditions that fall under the umbrella of sudden arrhythmia death syndromes — also known as SADS — cause the heart's electrical system to work improperly, resulting in an abnormal heartbeat.

The heart conditions claim about 210,000 Americans each year, according to SADS Foundation. One SADS condition known as "long QT syndrome" causes 10 to 12 percent of sudden infant death syndrome cases and is three times more common than childhood leukemia in the United States, according to the foundation.

SADS can affect people who appear healthy at all ages, Renee Maler said. Her friends have lost adult children and children as young as young as 5 to SADS.

The good news is that SADS is preventable, she said.

"It’s knowing the signs and getting tested that saves lives," she said. "If only we had had that knowledge and convinced his doctors to order proper testing when he complained of a 'racing heart,' he’d likely still be here today."

Register for Tuesday's event.