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Over a month ago, my dear friend died suddenly at age 27. The police and the coroner can't find a cause of death or a time of death. I suspect that he died of Sudden Adult Death Syndrome but I can't prove it and I don't know what to ask them to look for. It doesn't run in his family.
He was healthy, a little stressed out from work and life in general (had just been through a nasty divorce) but things were looking up. They said he definitely did not die of natural causes, he didn't have a heart attack so they just don't know. Some unknown fluid was found in his lungs. When found, he looked like he was in a peaceful sleep.
For almost a year now, he'd been complaining to me of not being able to sleep. He'd wake up in the middle of the night sweating and with sever heart palpitations. He had been getting by on 3-4 hours sleep per night due to what doctors told him were anxiety attacks. He was on medication for depression and for panic attacks none which ever worked.
It's hard on those of us who were close to him. The funeral offered me no closure. I have a need to find out what happened or I fear I might go crazy. Life without him is hard enough but not knowing how he died is even worse. I blame myself for not checking up on his symptoms and not pushing him to get a second opinion when nothing was working for his diagnosed panic attacks.
I don't know if he really had HCM but I'd definitely like them to look into it for the sake of the children he left behind. An autopsy has already been performed and nothing was found. They claim everything including his heart seemed normal. Tests are still being run. What can I tell his family to ask the coroner to look for?
~ Odobea
He was healthy, a little stressed out from work and life in general (had just been through a nasty divorce) but things were looking up. They said he definitely did not die of natural causes, he didn't have a heart attack so they just don't know. Some unknown fluid was found in his lungs. When found, he looked like he was in a peaceful sleep.
For almost a year now, he'd been complaining to me of not being able to sleep. He'd wake up in the middle of the night sweating and with sever heart palpitations. He had been getting by on 3-4 hours sleep per night due to what doctors told him were anxiety attacks. He was on medication for depression and for panic attacks none which ever worked.
It's hard on those of us who were close to him. The funeral offered me no closure. I have a need to find out what happened or I fear I might go crazy. Life without him is hard enough but not knowing how he died is even worse. I blame myself for not checking up on his symptoms and not pushing him to get a second opinion when nothing was working for his diagnosed panic attacks.
I don't know if he really had HCM but I'd definitely like them to look into it for the sake of the children he left behind. An autopsy has already been performed and nothing was found. They claim everything including his heart seemed normal. Tests are still being run. What can I tell his family to ask the coroner to look for?
~ Odobea
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