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my mom died 2 days ago of a ruptured aortic aneurysm

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My mom had been complaining of back pain for the past few months and was taking Robackaset to fix the pain and it seemed to work ,she called it the miracle pill. Unfortunately and of me telling her to go get it checked out ,she did not and now has passed away and will be missed dearly and she was such a beautiful lady . She just turned 72 in Oct. Within 40 mins, she passed away and we found out today from the coroner that she passed away from a ruptured aortic aneurysm and he said that she went very fast and did not feel any pain and even if she was at hospital there was nothing that could have been done. I will miss her dearly and it is so painful because it is so unexcepted and so sudden. I regret not pushing her more to go get her back checked out because they might have found the aneurysm and been able to fix it. I have just looked for the first time since I found out earlier exactly what it meant that she passed away from and the coroner said she would not have felt anything ,it would have just been like falling asleep and that has made me feel abit better because she was alone and I hate the thought that she died alone. I just wish she would have gotten her back checked out and then they would have found this and maybe saved her life and fixed it. She seemed to also ,for the past months have a hard time going shopping and being on her feet for to long , she would sort of burn out faster than normal and she was seeing her doctor because she was diagnosed with borderline diabetes and had 2 mnths to lose abit of weight and change her eatting habits, she did everyting she was suppose to and the doctor never picked up on this and this is something I do not understand because she had so many different bloodwork done for this and other things and is it possible that this was overlooked because I was also told that she had alot of plaque and her cholestoral and was on medication for that. I don't understand why this was not found at all. With the high cholestoral why wouldn't a chest exray been done to make sure her heart was ok and also her aorta? If anyone has any kind of answer to my questions it would be much appreciated and comforting to know , anything about this and why it was not found. I loved her dearly ,she was my best friend ,my confidant and I will miss her so much, my life has changed drastically over this and I will never be the same person I was 3 days ago. I love you so much mom and miss you even more, R.I.P. Corey[/b]

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  • danno141
    danno141 Guest

    Posted

    I had a Thoracic aneurism. It was 5.4 cm. I had open heart surgery to repair it. I am a 54 year old male in good shape. I had no real symptoms. No chest pain, or back pain. It was found during normal screening by my GP for high blood pressure. It first showed up on an echocardiogram I had just to examine my heart. It was verified by a CT scan. I also had a cardiac catheterization before surgery. The surgery went well and I spent 7 days in the hospital and was not supposed to drive for 10 days after that. It wasn't anywhere near as bad as I feared it would be. A year later I am back to normal with just a scar to show for it. No one can catch this unless they see it on an echocardiogram, or a CT scan and they happen to check for it. So if you have back pain and suspect it ask for an echocardiogram. It is cheap, easy and non invasive, like having a sonogram on a fetus. Good luck. If you want to know more I'll answer if I can. There are a lot of threads on this subject here.
    • maximo_jr.21795
      maximo_jr.21795 danno141

      Posted

      Hi Danno141,

      Mine was discovered when my leg was swelling.At first my doctor thought I have deep vein thrombosis, after my dupler scan in my legs it was negative. So I had my Echocardiogram and CT Aortogram. There my doctor found out I have Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm 4.8cm. I am only 37 years old. My father and my uncle died of aneurysm as well. My case is familial. That's why my cardiologist advised me to have my open heart surgery done ASAP.But until now I haven't have my surgery done yet.

  • james99024
    james99024 Guest

    Posted

    I am so sorry for your Mom.  I was 63 when I had AAA burst.  Only 10% survive that, so I am very fortunate.  I think these aneurysms are much more prevalent than you think.  I think when they find many people who have passed away, they just declare it a heart attack because they don't want to do aotopsy.  There are many, many people out there who have aneurysms, but do not know it.  People like myself had a good diet, didn't smoke and exercised all the time, and still can die from aneurysms.  It is mostly hereditary.  If you have any blood relatives who had aneurysms, get tested.  Here in America, as soon as you turn 65 and get on Medicare, you are allowed free of charge a CT scan.  Do not be a fool, GET THE CT SCAN.   If they find a large aneurysm, it can usually be stented fairly easily and you are off and running.  DO IT.    If they find one that is fairly small, you can change your lifestyle, monitor it and maybe it will not grow.  Knowledge is power.
    • maria94159
      maria94159 james99024

      Posted

      James, it was helpful to read your input. My AAA is 4.3 cm at the last reading, and the doc is keeping an eye on it with an ultrasound every 6 months (which seems like a long time to me.) I try not to think about it as after all, what is there to do it except get as much education as possible. But even this I find scary as it seems that no matter what I do, nothing will help, i.e., operation, no operation? My big question is what is too much stress?  I'm old (81) but active...how much is too much?  I promised not to get pregnant, but can I have sex? Everyone titters because of my age, but what the heck? What if I get lucky?  I don't know if mine is hereditary...both my parents died in their mid-90's and my paternal grandmother died at 100.  I feel very lucky and thank God every day for what I have and also ask for guidance in ways to help others the best I can.
    • james99024
      james99024 maria94159

      Posted

      Hi Maria, My AAA was larger than 8.5 cm when it ruptured, 4.3 cm sounds relatively small to me.  You know about it and it is being monitored every 6 months.  If it is not growing, I wouldn't worry too much about it.  It may not get any bigger and that would be great.  If it does grow into the danger zone, get it stented.  You sound like you are in great shape.  The odds are you will do fine getting it stented.  As far as getting lucky, you should be ok.  Just lay back and enjoy it.  I do not see any stress there.  Just don't go chopping wood in your back yard.  That is the kind of stress to your abdomal area your doctor is talking  about. 
    • maria94159
      maria94159 james99024

      Posted

      Thanks for the encouraging words, James. I think what scares me the most is the pain when it ruptures and not getting to a surgeon in time, but you are quite a strong person if you can survive an 8.5 rupture.  Maybe more people will be inspired by the information. As for me getting lucky, I think I have a better chance of chopping woodwink
    • james99024
      james99024 maria94159

      Posted

      In my case, the rupture was no pain at all.  The pain was where the blood pooled.  It goes to body cavities.  In my case it was the lower left back.  It first appeared to be a normal back ache, then rapiding turned into a super severe pain in my back.  I laid on the floor and couldn't get up. I was 30 minutes from the hospital and the rest is history.  I wonder if some people who have access to heavy duty pain killers like opioids would have gone to bed and tried to tough it out.  Within a few hours they would be dead.  If you have an aneurysm  that you are really nervous about, don't get too far from a major hospital and make sure you let the ER know right away that you have an aneurysm and that might be the reason you are there.  Don't vacation to 3rd world countrys, no cruises, mountain climbing, etc. 
    • maria94159
      maria94159 james99024

      Posted

      Ok, no 3rd world vacations, nor mountain climbing, but what is your opinion about my wearing a medic bracelet?  Reading all these experiences, I see that time is of the essence and since I'm alone most of the time I thought maybe this might help.  
    • james99024
      james99024 maria94159

      Posted

      Medic bracelet is great.  Cell phone is wonderful. Please get one if you don't have one now especially since you are alone.  Also, screen the hospitals around you.  A lot of hospitals are not set up to do emergency AAA surgery.  If they have to transfer you to another hospital, you are in big trouble. 
  • danno141
    danno141 Guest

    Posted

    As I mentioned before I've had the surgery but my older brother has a Thoracic Aneurysm of 4.6 cm and they are monitoring it. He has seen a different surgeon than mine. I asked my surgeon about it and he said he would consider putting him a beta blocker, not for blood pressure but because he said studies indicate it eases surface tension in the artery, whatever that means. My brother hasn't done this because he's worried about side effects. I'm not sure if this would apply to any of you but it's something you might ask your doctors about. I'm on beta blockers now for blood pressure and maybe it helps with my abdominal aorta, maybe not.
    • maria94159
      maria94159 danno141

      Posted

      Thanks Danno141, I'll ask about the beta blocker next time I see him. Every little bit of info I can get helps. Good luck to your brother.

       

  • kay10213
    kay10213 Guest

    Posted

    I'm sorry to read this article about your mom. This had to be devastating. I've just recently survived a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm and I can honestly say that I believe she didn't feel any pain. I had back pain earlier in the day of my rupture and then at some point, I passed out...I didn't know what happened to me. After coming to, I was in a euphoric state and wasn't worried about death, my family or anything. Then came the surgery...

    I nor anyone else in the family had heard of this silent killer until it happened to me. My mom and dad went to get checked and I have advised my kids to get regular check ups for this. I haven't read every post but it looks like you and your siblings have gone to get checked and is getting medical attention. Good for you.  

  • cornishrex
    cornishrex Guest

    Posted

    I'm reading this thread because my own mother died 6 weeks ago of a AAA. We had no idea anything was wrong with her, I didn't get a chance to say goodbye to her (I hadn't seen her since xmas), and she died alone in the emergency dept of our county hospital because they told my father she just needed to go down in the ambulance for a check up, and he was going to pick her up an hour later. Oh how devastated I am. My small comfort is posts like the above that suggest that she didn't know what was happening to her. She was shopping the day before, as right as rain. The post mortem showed that she had a 6.5cm abdominal aneurysm. No high blood pressure. Good health,regular blood tests. But they don't women for AAA in the UK, only men. My beloved mother is gone at the age of 77. The only long term problem she had was constipation.
    • kay10213
      kay10213 cornishrex

      Posted

      I'm sorry to hear about your mother. That must be tough. They don't screen women here in the US either unless requested. They say that this is hereditary but non of my family has gone through what I experienced. Make sure you go get checked. I hope that you have grieved properly and please know that your mom didn't suffer. She really didn't. She may have experienced some back pain or stomach aches but she didn't suffer. 
  • lisa0371
    lisa0371 Guest

    Posted

    Hi. I'm so sorry to hear about your mum. My heart goes out to you. We lost my beloved dad a few months ago. He was fit and we'll never been to hospital. Went to collect my dog that he looked after when I'm at work. 30 minutes later hes rushed to hospital with terrible pain in back and groin and feeling sick. It wasn't until later that night he had a scan they discovered an 11cm aortic abdominal any aneurism. He was rushed to theatre 8 hour operation and was stable. Sadly 2 days later he lost his battle and we are all still devastated. He was 75 loved do much by us all and can't believe I never got to say goodbye. We miss him so much. The pain does ease with time but it doesn't go away. The doctors think he must have had this growing for 10 years plus. My mum has lost her soul mate of 51 years and struggles everyday but we are looking after her xx
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