Friday, April 04, 2008

SUDDEN DEATH

There's been a death in my husband's family. A fit, active, older man who'd recently complained to his handball partner about heartburn, but didn't seek a physician's help, died suddenly when the "heartburn" returned with a vengeance.

What he'd passed off as "heartburn" was a dying heart--the pain its protest against a lack of oxygen because narrowed arteries that couldn't deliver it to the vital muscle.

In medicine, we call this the "king's death." It's sudden and pain is brief-if there is pain. But the enormity of the shock a family feels cannot be underestimated.

We write about murder, about death. Let's not forget the shock loved ones feel in the face of the sudden death of a significant person in their lives.

Do you know basic CPR? Do you carry an Aspirin to take in case of "heartburn?"

The Amercian Heart Association has a list online of signs and symptoms of a heart attack in men and women. Become familiar with them.

Dee Ann Palmer

http://www.deeannpalmer.com
http://www.myspace.com/deeannpalmerwriter
Posted by Dee Ann Palmer 12:02 PM 0 Comments:

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