Warwick Davis's wife died after cardiac arrest

Samantha Davis, the actress and wife of Warwick Davis, died after suffering a cardiac arrest hours before a hospital was planning to discharge her, an inquest has found.

Ms Davis died aged 53 at University College Hospital in London on 24 March last year.

She had been admitted to hospital on 7 February following a sudden loss of mobility in her lower limbs after a disc prolapse.

The inquest at Inner West London Coroner's Court concluded Ms Davis died of arrhythmic cardiac arrest following complications of essential surgical treatment.

Ms Davis had undergone a thoracotomy operation - a surgical procedure where the chest wall is opened - in the February before her death.

Her condition improved following a further thoracotomy a month later and the University College Hospital at Westmoreland Street was planning to discharge her, the inquest heard.

However, Ms Davis went into cardiac arrest at 23:25 GMT on 23 March and was pronounced dead at 00:28 on 24 March following a failed attempt to resuscitate her.

Professor Fiona Wilcox, senior coroner for Inner West London, said: "I am satisfied that the medical cause of death should be arrhythmic cardiac arrest and complications following left thoracotomies.

"In my view, the stress of everything together has precipitated this arrhythmic cardiac arrest in a lady who was not known to have any previous arrhythmia problems."

Prof Wilcox said Ms Davis had achondroplasia, a bone growth disorder which results in dwarfism, that was "complicated by spinal cord compression".

The coroner said: "In my view, if this compression hadn't occurred, Ms Davis simply wouldn't have been so unwell.

"She wouldn't have needed two lots of major surgeries."

Discussing the care she received in hospital, Prof Wilcox said: "I have found nothing but excellent care being delivered to this lady and all of her complications were appropriately managed.

"It is frankly heartbreaking that the surgery itself was successful only for complications to arise and to cause her death."

Together with her husband, Ms Davis co-founded the charity Little People UK in 2012 to help individuals with dwarfism and their families.

The couple starred together in Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2, where Ms Davis played a goblin.

Mr Davis, known for his roles in Star Wars and the Harry Potter films, dedicated his Bafta film fellowship award to Ms Davis during an emotional tribute at the ceremony in February.

He said "life has been pretty tough" since she died, and "she was always so supportive of my career, encouraging me to grab every opportunity with both hands".

The couple met during the filming of 1988 fantasy movie Willow. They married in 1991 and have two children.

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