#Boy dies after haunted house induces cardiac arrest

He was literally scared to death.

A Malaysian teen has died after suffering a heart attack while visiting a haunted house with a friend on Dec. 1.

16-year-old Muhammad Suhairil was vacationing with a friend’s family when they decided to visit a renowned spooky tourist site in Bentong, Pahang, according to local news outlet Kosmo! Their visit went south after the youngster reportedly fell down and lost consciousness after getting “shocked” by one of the “ghost” attractions.

A disturbing video, which was shot by a bystander and posted to Facebook, shows bystanders trying to revive an unresponsive Suhairil to no avail.

He was later taken outside by the family and videographer, whereupon emergency services were contacted. However, they were unable to help the poor boy, who passed away shortly thereafter.

Local police classified the incident as sudden death, although a subsequent autopsy revealed that Suhairil had a perforated heart, a rare but potentially deadly cardiovascular condition. It is as yet unclear if the teen’s family were aware of his ailment.

The exact cause of death remains unclear, however the teen may have suffered from a complication of Takotsubo cardiomyopathy — often referred to as “broken heart syndrome” — in which heart muscle weaken due to emotional or physical stress. While normally only temporary, the sudden scare could have induced cardiac arrest in this instance due to Suhairil’s underlying heart problem.

“In people with pre-existing risk factors or pre-existing cardiovascular disease, you want to reduce the environments in which you might be suddenly stressed like this,” cardiologist Dr. Mark Estes of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center told the Daily Mail.

Unfortunately, broken heart syndrome is reportedly on the rise across the US due to surging stress levels amid the COVID-19 pandemic.