Australian YouTuber ‘Pretty Pastel Please’ died “suddenly” on June 26 at the age of 30, with the cause of her death only now being revealed.
The social media star, whose real name was Alexandra, was known for vlogging, product reviews, fashion hauls, and travel videos. She had amassed over 691,000 subscribers on YouTube and 127,000 Instagram followers.
However, Alexandra had been forced to end multiple streams early due to feeling faint and short of breath. Family described her death in late June as “sudden, unexpected, and devastating to all who knew her”.
A Facebook post revealed coroners had determined the cause of death was Lymphocytic myocarditis, a “very rare, debilitating, and fatal infection” of the heart affecting approximately one in every fifteen million people.
The inflammatory disease was why Alexandra had not been feeling well during her final two streams as “unbeknown to her”, the symptoms she experienced were signs of heart failure
The post also revealed the initial autopsy had failed to pick up on the disease, meaning it was only found during a microscopic toxicology investigation. The news that Alexandra had died from Lymphocytic myocarditis left her family “all extremely traumatized again”.
According to the National Library of Medicine, Lymphocytic myocarditis can be “challenging” to diagnose due to its “nonspecific clinical presentation”, which can range from mild febrile illness to florid myocarditis and cardiogenic shock.
Following Alexandra’s death, her family urged anyone experiencing potential symptoms of Lymphocytic myocarditis to seek urgent medical assistance. While John Hopkins Medicine shared that there are often no symptoms during the early stages of the disease, ones to look out for include:
- Chest pain
- Fatigue
- Rapid or abnormal heart rhythm (arrhythmia)
- Signs of infection:
- Diarrhea
- Headache
- Fever
- Muscle aches
- Sore throat
- Shortness of breath
- Swelling in legs
“The name Alexandra means ‘Defender and Protector of Mankind’. Our daughter certainly lived up to her name and was taken from us all scores of years too early,” a tribute to Alexandra written by her parents read.
“We grieve deeply for her soul and pray that she is in a pain-free and loving place surrounded by those she loved who passed away before her. We thank her from the bottom of our hearts for the gift of her enduring deep love for us, and for humanity.”