Diagnostic question for doctors/students/similar?

Question

I'm writing a story, which really isn't as morbid as this question is going to sound. This is important for one of the early chapters and might influence the rest of the book, so I need a clear answer from someone with relevant knowledge, please.

In the case that a child, about 9 years old, had had a heart attack or similar incident that could have killed her in her sleep (although she is still alive), would there be signs after-wards that would point to this?

She's going to be seen by a doctor anyway because she's not quite herself (in the story she's not, in fact, her self at all any more). How likely would it be for a doctor to determine that such an event had occurred?

Whatever the answer I feel confident that I can work it into the story. Thank you in advance.

Answer 1

You might want to call it a heart condition rather than a heart attack.  A heart condition could be congenital and a doctor might discover an irregularity during a careful exam.  A heart attack often refers to loss (blocked) bloodflow to heart tissue which could cause permanent necrosis (death of tissue) which a doctor might detect during a careful exam.  If the problem is congenital (weak heart) it might not be checked unless the child had obvious symptoms or complained.  You might want to check congenital heart valve problems for your plot.