The life of a Leigh woman might have been saved had she received a heart transplant a month before her death, an inquest heard.

Simone Clawson, 32, of Highbank Close, died shortly after an exploratory operation - but there was no way doctors could have known about the extremely "brittle" state of her heart.

At one stage Simone's sisters and other relatives had complained at the failure of doctors to recommend her for a transplant.

But following the inquest they said they were now satisfied with the explanations given by experts.

One of the country's leading pathologists Dr Iain West told the Westminster hearing Simone had suffered from a "complex abnormality of the heart" from birth.

It meant insufficient blood was being pumped into her lungs and Simone had undergone a number of major operations over the years. With the benefit of hindsight Dr West said he thought at the time of her exploratory surgery in May she was "only going to get worse".

Coroner Dr Paul Knapman said he accepted the medical evidence and that the hospital's actions had in no way contributed to Simone's death.

He also spoke about the dilemma of surgeons when they have to decide priorities for heart transplants.

He said: "It's a bit like throwing out a suit when it gets a bit scruffy. Should you do it today or wait until tomorrow?"

In addition to her heart trouble, Simone had an acute lung condition which was predicted to cause further problems.

Dr West said: "If she had been born a decade or a couple of decades earlier she would not have reached 32 years."

Oxygen deprivation had been the principle cause of death and Dr West could not criticise the treatment the dead woman had received at the Royal Brompton Hospital in Kensington after being transferred from Southend Hospital.

Dr Michael Gatzoulis, consultant cardiologist at the Royal Brompton, said he had decided on an exploratory operation to look at Simone's heart from the rear following her admission.

He had not expected her to react so badly to the anaesthetics used and she died in the recovery room shortly after surgery.

Dr Knapman recorded a verdict of death by natural causes.

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