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Dissecting Aorta - 6/30/2011 7:48:13 PM

LafayetteLady

Posts: 7683
Joined: 5/2/2007
From: Northern New Jersey
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I'm staying with a friend temporarily to help her care for her mother who is dying. She is 88 years old, has had 6 heart surgeries, including grafts. Now one of the grafts is dissecting (is that spelled right?). She has other health issues as well, so the doctors have said this isn't something they can surgically repair. Her time on this earth is simply going to come to an end.

I've been told that this is a pretty grusome way to go, that essentially she is going to simply bleed out at the end. That there will be blood coming from everywhere and her heart will continue to beat for 15-30 minutes until there is no more blood to pump. A painful and horrifying way to die.

Does anyone know anything about this? I've only been here about a month, visited a couple times before. I've really come to care a great deal about this woman. She's had some good days where she was able to leave her bed and spend time with everyone. She is intelligent and really funny. I hate to think of her having to suffer through such a horrible thing.

My friend is becoming more and more unable to handle things. She doesn't admit that, but she is sinking into a depression of her own and spending a lot of time in her room. That actually makes it easier for me to help her aunt (82 1/2) take care of her mother since she tends to take on far too much and refuses to ask for help (hence the sinking into depression). Don't get me wrong, I don't mind helping at all and would prefer my friend get much needed rest.

The entire household is in a bit of chaos. Friend has one brother going through a heinous divorce, one sister who is an attorney and very self absorbed (doesn't help out at all) and her other sister is disabled and lives in a group home. Friend is acting snarky and vile to nearly everyone, including her fiance, who is none too happy with the situation. He was switched to the night shift, so he tends to be a bit grumpy himself.

Moving is NOT an option right now. This woman is one of my best friends and I won't bail on her and leave her to do this alone. Somehow, I have been managing to avoid all the bad moods and her aunt tells me all the time what a comfort I have brought to her by being here.

So if anyone can give me some information on how this type of death actually occurs, I would appreciate it. Also, it wouldn't hurt for people to pray, light candles or whatever they do in the hopes that when the time comes, my friend's mother's death will be mercifully quick and painless.

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RE: Dissecting Aorta - 6/30/2011 8:16:39 PM

bemyslut

Posts: 62
Joined: 6/3/2009
Status: offline

Death from aortic dissection depends on which way the dissection progresses...if it continues distally, then the blood flow to various organs on the lower half of the body can become affected--when this occurs, the bowels usually become ischemic which leads to sepsis, coma and death (unless there is surgical intervention). If the dissection continues proximally, then the coronary arteries, valves and carotids become dysfunctional--death also ensues, but it is at a much more rapid pace. The treatment for someone with a dissecting aorta is either surgical or medical. Medical management entails maintaining a slower heart rate and lower blood pressure to minimize the enlarging dissection. People can live through a dissection and resume normal lives...but from what you have described, there are a number of co morbidities which might preclude this. Please feel free to PM me if you need additional information

(in reply to LafayetteLady)

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