Dr Oz: Blood Pressure Health
Dr Oz and his guest, Dr Jan Garavaglia, a Florida medical examiner, have been exploring real life case files to explain how to determine a cause of death. So far, they have cracked cases where NSAIDs caused bleeding ulcers and a Pulmonary Embolism were the culprits. Next was a case that could happen to anyone without warning, and it has to do with Blood Pressure sudden death risk factors.
Dr Oz: Dr G Unsolved Medical Mystery
Dr Oz and Dr Jan Garavaglia explored a case where a patient experienced high blood pressure sudden death due to hypertension, which is surprisingly common.
Dr G’s last case of the day was a woman, age 39, who was 5’7” and 175 pounds when she died. Her medical history was incomplete and she hadn’t seen a doctor since giving birth at age 25. According to a family member, she did not have any medical problems.
The woman had been shopping at a grocery store. She collapsed when she got home. Even though she was rushed to the hospital, she was pronounced dead when she arrived.
Dr Oz: Hypertension Heart Health
According to Dr G, the first clue in an unexplained death is the heart. The bad news about this is that there are usually no warning signs in advance of heart-related deaths, which is part of the reason they seem so random.
Dr Garavaglia said she would check for an enlarged heart, weigh the heart, and also look carefully at its coronary arteries. The woman’s arteries were clear, but her heart was enlarged, which is typically the result of high blood pressure.
Dr Oz: Kidney Health
The woman’s kidney in this case was also abnormal. It is supposed to be smooth, but it was bumpy instead. That’s another indicator of hypertension, or high blood pressure. The official determination in this case was arrhythmia and heart failure due to high blood pressure.
Dr Oz: High Blood Pressure Sudden Death Risk
Dr G said that these types of sudden deaths from high blood pressure (or hypertension) occur every single day. In some cases, patients knew they had high blood pressure, but many times they may have had no idea. It can be terrifying because there are no symptoms or advance warning.
It’s just another reason to get regular checkups and monitor your vital signs, such as blood pressure.
My 63 yo wife of 35 years died july 28, 14 and the state medical examiner dose not know why? She had untreated high blood pressure and refused to take her meds for HBP. The Dr, did a head autopsy only and found a moderate amount of morphine which she had a prescription for it. I would beg her to be responsible and control her PB but no, she just would not do it. 180/115 was a common reading when she came home from the pharmacy. I told her not to die but she did. It left me devastated, Sudden and final leaving her family with many questions and much sorrow.