Hypertensive heart disease cause of death

[jharri17]

Hello I need some help getting closure!  My mother in law passed away suddenly at the age of 50.  Her death certificate says hypertensive heart disease.  Her doctor has no record of her having high blood pressure.  She had borderline high cholesterol but was not on medication for that nor hypertension.  We left her at 8 she seemed fine and returned at 10 and she was dead on my porch and hadn't made it to a phone or anything.  About a year before her death she had an ekg which showed a bundle branch blockage which she knew she had.  She had some chest heaviness so she had an echocardiogram which showed decreased heart function.  She then had a heart cath which showed no blockages.  My father law who provides little explanation said the doctor said her heart was operating at 60 percent but not to worry about it?  I don't even really know what that means.  In June she had chest pain again and came home from the store but she was a lifelong sufferer of anxiety and panic attacks.  Ten years prior to her death she had breast cancer and had chemo and radiation but was quickly in remission.  She had mentioned to my mother tha chemo had damaged some part of her heart but didn't say what.  She definitely drank a lot of caffeine and a few years after having cancer had her thyroid removed and her uterus removed.  That day she seemed perfectly fine.  The only thing I remember was the day before she had said her feet were cold but we were Ina. Cold place.  She did have me go get her socks which was odd for her though.  She had taken a long car trip two days prior too.  She also had a desk job.  In the year prior to her death she had gotten really into supplements and healthy living.  Some of which I thought was a little overkill.  I know she had a lot of Shakes with bee pollen in them.  My father in law refuses to let my husband get a copy of the autopsy.  Can anyone shed some light on possibly what happened if her death certificate says hypertensive heart disease?  I asked a doctor friend and she said her top number would have to be well over 200 for quite some time to pass away from it but she never had high blood pressure?  I'm hoping some insight would provide some closure.

Thank you!

[tacolino]

Hi there, Im so sorry for you and your family regarding what happened. You all must have suffered terribly with this sudden death. Its strange what it does to your minds. My father died suddenly many years ago. It seems like yesterday./ Reading your post its like my own story. You tend to beat yourself up with questions. Your father in law is probably riddled with guilt in some way. Could he have done something to save her?? Why? What could I have done? How was this not diagnosed? Its totally consuming for you all i understand.
The term on the death cert may be what the autopsy doctor felt was the cause. These would be the clinical facts. The reason this was the official reason was due to what was found on examination. The decreased function ( Its Called EF) is a symptom of Heart Failure. The 60% you mention is probably the EF number. But if the EF number was 60% , this is normal. ? EF is usually normal in a range of 55 - 70%. Its the amount of blood that leaves the heart each time it pumps. Nothing I say or anything you do will change whats happened. It must be so hard to accept. This is a brief explanation, but hope it helps. All the family need comfort and love right now. Try and remember the good times. Best wishes.

[achillea]

Lovely and compassionate explanation, tacolino.  Thank you.