The most traumatic incident in my life was the death of my beloved sister at the age of 37. She had symptoms of chest discomfort on the day but EKG examination by her GP did not reveal any abnormality. There were no 'typical' symptoms of heart disease. So she was advised to go home and take a rest. That night my sister had a cardiac arrest and nobody could revive her. Autopsy was negative except for narrowing of right coronary artery ostium and lumen but no signs of Myocardial Infarction. It is assumed that she died of VF, pulmonary edema and brain anoxia. She had no previous history of heart disease and she was healthy and active always. The only clue I have now is that she had h/o hypertension during her pregnancy but became normotensive after delivery. She had an episode of herpes zoster (shingles) infection during her first pregnancy. She did not have any screening tests before as she was a young, active, non smoker and was not diabetic. Being a doctor I just can't forgive myself for not preventing her death. (I was not with her and the news of her death was the most shocking incident in my life). Published: November 02 ::

My husband (age 55) collapsed at work with cardiac arrest. First responders gave CPR. When he got to the hospital he was non-responsive. He was revived, had stents put in, and placed in intensive care. He was in a coma for four days. He had oxygen depravation, and no one was sure how long he was out before CPR was started. He was taken off life support on the fourth day, and woke up the fifth day and said "hi" to the nurse. He had limited vocabulary and virtually no voluntary motor skills. When he was discharged to a nursing home after two weeks in the hospital, while he came a long way, he still could not function on his own and most times his conversation was gibberish. After 5 weeks in a nursing home with physical, occupational, and speech therapy, he was able to come home. He could dress himself, feed himself, and take care of his own personal hygiene. It is now 11 weeks since his heart attack, and he has completed physical and occupational therapy. He continues with speech therapy, but his memory is coming back, he knows he has lost some, is learning to read and write again, and can drive short distances. His speech is slurry at times, but he always makes sense. What happened to my husband is a miracle. There is no other explanation. He was a smoker all his life, but drank little. He had an active lifestyle and had no warning of heart problems. He did, however, avoid going to the doctor and practicing preventive medicine. His family doctor is very pleased with his progress and is amazed at his recovery in such a short time. Our families and I are still praying for a full recovery. What a roller coaster ride it was for me (his wife), especially the first two weeks; from going to giving his organs away and planning his funeral to having him at home now and functioning well and everything that happened in between. Sometimes when suffering comes to your door, you have to realize every person is different. The intensive care doctor, cardiologist, and neurologist all told me this, and they were right, although they were not very optimistic. I am sure hundred and hundreds of prayers contributed to his awakening and recovering so far -- and he's not done yet! Published: August 17 ::

My father died of cardiac arrest after years of small episodes where his heart was able to recapture a beat. He had little medical care by choice and was an alcoholic who quit smoking some 15 years before he died. He had a cardiac catheterization 10 days before he died and ignored the cardiologist's advice about not driving across the country. His medications were yet to be titrated appropriately when he died. At catheterization, it was discovered that he had what is called alcoholic cardiomyopathy although his liver was pristine. I was told that this can happen in people who are heavy drinkers; at the time, the cause and effect of this phenomenon was unknown. At any rate, alcoholic cardiomyopathy was the direct cause of my father's cardiac arrest at the age of just 67. Published: July 15 ::

This must be one of the most traumatic, horrific experiences for anyone, to witness a sudden cardiac death of a loved one. Last fall, my husband of 33 years, having just finished a busy morning on his tractor, and lunch, was walking across the room, and DROPPED! I mean dropped like an oak tree. I was 10 steps away, and ran for the phone, listening to one horrible groan. When I got back, about 40 seconds later, with 911 on, he was sightless, and still. I attempted CPR, but nothing, just nothing. He was gone by the time the first responder arrived about 5 min later. Our family, our lives, have been devastated. I am AMAZED, how little can be done for this, how little we even hear about it, unless someone like Jackson dies too. I feel EVERYONE who has heart disease should have an implantable defibrillator. I am also appalled at the medical profession, and their lack of concern about people with heart disease. This dying, apparently, is quite common in middle aged men. Usually there is underlying problems, often known. I have heard of more people who have lost loved ones like that. Published: August 17 ::

I just lost my 49 year old husband to myocarditis. It was a very sudden and unexpected death. He was very healthy but got addicted to those energy drinks which made his heart beat irregular and so there were no systems. We had just gone for a 75 mile ride on his new bike and got home watching a movie and next thing I knew he was gone. Had he not drank those energy drinks that are one the shelves in most every store you go to maybe we would have known that something was wrong. Published: August 17 ::