According to a statement from the Casten family published by the congressman on Friday, Gwen “died of a sudden cardiac arrythmia.” 

“In layman’s terms, she was fine, and then her heart stopped,” read the statement. “We don’t know what caused the arrythmia, and likely never will.” 

The family says that Gwen was “fully vaccinated,” which is to be expected given her father’s virulent disdain for those who did not receive the COVID-19 injections. In September, Rep. Casten called the unvaccinated “knuckleheads,” telling Business Insider that every member of his staff got the shots “because they don’t like to be dead.”

“I’ve made a point of not hiring knuckleheads, and everybody on our staff got vaccinated…” he said.  

In August, Casten asserted that anyone in a position of power who does not push vaccines and masks does not value life.  

“If you’re not vaccinated, get vaccinated,” he tweeted. “If you can’t get vaccinated, wear a mask. If ANYONE in a position of power says anything to the contrary, they do not value your life.”  

Casten also expressed his gratitude for the shot when he contracted COVID-19 in January.   

“I’m grateful for the miraculous work of our scientists and health care workers — and encourage everyone to get vaccinated, boosted, and mask up,” Casten said.   

Gwen, who was active in her father’s campaign, was known to tweet fierce support for the vaccine and facemasks.  

In October, Gwen replied to a tweet from California Governor Gavin Newsom announcing a vaccine mandate for children. Gwen tagged Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker and wrote, “Can we be next please.” 

The Castens acknowledged the recent phenomenon of “sudden, unexplained heart-failure among young, healthy people” but appeared stymied as to the reason, instead chalking Gwen’s death up to “random chance”. 

“She had just come home from an evening with friends, went to bed and didn’t wake up,” the family said. “We are heartbroken, but we are not unique. Sudden unexplained heart-failure among young, healthy people is rare but real. We are left grasping at the wrong end of random chance.” 

The untimely death came amid news media reports of an alarming rise in deaths among young, healthy people. News outlets say the deaths are flummoxing doctors, who are calling the phenomenon Sudden Adult Death Syndrome (SADS) and are starting “SADS registries” to discover the cause of the deaths.  

Dr. Peter McCullough, the most published cardiologist in the world, was one of those physicians who publicly warned against the COVID-19 injection, stating that the risks of the vaccine outweigh its benefits.

In July, Dr. McCullough suggested that deaths like Gwen Casten’s and other “SADS” deaths are following a certain formula produced by mass formation psychosis.  

“How to diagnose a death in mass formation: 1) death not expected 2) no cause of death given 3) no family/team/organization outrage 4) flowery nonspecific eulogy 5) no mention of when it was taken how many of them and when was last one (brand). 6) no X-rays labs or autopsy,” tweeted the world-renowned physician, who at the time of this report has been suspended by Twitter for his medical opinion.