My dad who was 92 died suddenly on 6th April
The post mortem showed ischaemic heart disease
My dad had heart failure but not IHD
I am convinced he must have had covid as heard that it causes sticky blood which in turn would have caused ischaemic heart disease
He lived in a nursing home which has suffered numerous deaths since 2nd April
Hi AnneFo
Welcome to the forum
I am sorry for your loss
Ischaemic heart disease is another name for coronary heart disease. It is usually caused by plaque building up on the inner lining of the arteries
Most people have some plaque in their arteries. As we get older we get more.
The heart is a muscle and again as we age all the muscles in our body work less well. Some degree of heart failure is very common in older adults.
Covid has not been shown to cause the build up of plaque in the arteries so cannot cause ischaemic heart disease.
I suggest you talk to the home where your father lived and ask to speak to the GP who provided care to the home so you can discuss the findings of his post mortem with them.
Here's some more information from the BHF about coronary heart disease.
bhf.org.uk/informationsuppo...
Thank you for your response
My dad had heart failure but died of heart disease
The post mortem showed no covid but that was from a visual inspection of my dad’s lungs
At that time there was no mention of sticky blood caused by covid
To me it’s too coincidental that my dad died so suddenly from heart disease a condition he didn’t have
He had medication for his heart failure that included medication to lower his cholesterol
He had not been diagnosed as having heart disease
Anne
Do you feel it would help to be able to discuss your father's post mortem more fully with a healthcare professional?
If you have the full report of your father's post mortem you could ask to discuss the findings with your father's GP.
I acknowledge it is a very difficult time for you. I hope you are able to get the answers you feel you need.
Yes I am awaiting the post mortem report but have been told it could be months
I think at the time of the pm it was only thought to affect the lungs so other than inspecting my dad’s lungs which showed no signs of the virus they wouldn’t have been testing elsewhere
This doctor who was talking on television said that covid had been shown to cause this sticky blood which then caused heart attacks and strokes and as both these conditions are as a result of blood clots and the blood not freely flowing it makes sense to me why my dad died from a condition he didn’t have and added to that he died at this time just short of reaching 93
Hi AnneFo,
I have written of my own experience of my Mum's recent passing below ... however as someone who also suffers from ischaemic heart disease (IHD, resulting in a heart bypass at 47 - now I am 61) I would rather suspect that it was very probably a major contributory factor to your Dad's heart failure. Whether or not he had Covid is a moot point ... personally I think it is disgusting that they did not do tests ... and the whole thing about care homes and Covid has been disgusting too. But I'm afraid knowing it will not bring our loved one back. My own way of coping is to celebrate Mum's life rather the nature of her passing ... and the consequential strained arrangements of a 'Covid funeral'.
Best wishes,
David
Thank you David
I had read what you had written after this and hadn’t seen this
Yes I can see how the the disease and the failure are linked and am going with this train of thought
My dad had type two diabetes and had hypertension and kidney failure
He suffered a stroke in September 2015 which didn’t affect him adversely too much but I think it was after that they diagnosed heart failure
I would like to thank you for helping me to see things differently and to be thankful for my dad’s long life rather than what I saw as his untimely death
Sorry to hear about your Dad, Anne. A difficult time for you but I don’t think you need to add to your stress with the question as to whether Covid was involved. If it was, it would surely have been included as a factor on the Death Certificate. At least that is what happened in the case of our neighbour who passed away in hospital aafter being admitted for an unrelated condition several weeks ago. The Death Certificate listed a heart condition and Covid-19 after he sadly contracted it in hospital.
Thanks for your response
I suppose I want some explanation as to why my dad died so suddenly and for him to die of heart disease a condition he didn’t have makes no sense
He hadn’t been tested for covid as he died so unexpectedly and the post mortem only did a visual examination of his lungs
It’s only since my dad’s death that sticky blood has been mentioned in relation to covid
It sounds as though the only way for you to get the answers to your questions is to speak to your Dad’s doctors.
My husband died of mesenteric ischemia while in hospital, a condition he didn't have before he went in, we did also wonder if covid was involved but the pm didn't find any evidence. We have to decide if we want an inquest but it won't change anything so no point.
Sorry to hear about your husband
was the ischaemia the only cause of death
how long had your husband been ill for
The pm for my dad only did a visual inspection of his lungs to test for covid
I think at that stage this sticky blood caused by the corona virus hadn’t been discovered so other than the visual inspection of the lungs I don’t know how corona virus would be tested for in a post mortem
1a was primary mesenteric ischemia
1b was valvular and heart ischemia
He died 4 weeks after heart surgery, the surgery was successful but it was the ischemia that got him, he was only 68. He had a very detailed pm and I put specific questions and concerns to the pathologist before it was done so he knew the details I wanted, the report is 12 pages long !
If you have been appointed a Coroners Officer talk to him/her about your concerns, our CO is so nice and she's really happy to talk and answer any questions we have.
AnneFo, I am sorry about your Fathers passing one and my condolences to you. 92 is a good age in most cases let alone with CHD. I think I would be happy to know that with my CHD I would make 92! Its nice you care enough to ask the question but I don't think the Covid issue is the main cause. You should be able to move through the grief and get to appreciate his life and hopefully many good moments amongst these rather bland old days we currently have.
I agree entirely with the above reply. My father died at 55 from a HA, and I will also be very pleased to get half way to 92 from my current 62 years. 92 is one hell of a good age at the end of the day.
Thank you
I know I should feel extremely fortunate that my dad lived to almost 93 and yet maybe because he had made it so far I feel cheated for him and for myself that he has been taken before he should have been as I am convinced it has to be covid that caused the heart disease which was the cause of death and yet he didn’t have heart disease he had heart failure that he received medication for
From last seeing my dad on 12th March when all was well to getting a phone call on the Sunday evening 5th April to let me know his blood pressure was on the low side to then a call on Monday morning that he had died is all so unreal to me
He was in a care home and asked for a drink of water at 7.30 am and within 2 hours the carers went into his room to find he had died
How can that be?
He hadn’t had a heart attack so how could he die from heart disease so suddenly
I really can’t get my head around it
I know I have no right to feel this way as my dad lived to be nearly 93 and when others have lost loved ones at much younger ages I can appreciate i could be considered as extremely fortunate
Perhaps when a parent gets to such a good age it gives you a false sense of security about their mortality
My mum who died last year aged 89 lost her mum when she was 20 years old and her mum was 44
My mum lived for nearly 70 years without her mum
That is an unbearable thought
You may be right about feeling worse if the relationship is longer, and yes it is an unbearable thought. My Dad died when I was 16 and my Mum when I was 18, I can't even really remember how I felt to be honest, sadly it's just life. I think you will find though, that a lot of old people do just "drift off" in their sleep? I hope you feel better soon.
Thank you
I’m so sorry that you lost your parents when you were so young
I didn’t mean it was worse the older a parent is more likely for them to die younger is worse
I was meaning for me the longer my dad lived through different medical conditions it gave me a false sense of security
I couldn’t see why he couldn’t get to be 100 and beyond
No time is ever going to be the right time
No don't worry I know you didn't. I think we have just got used to people living so old!
Thank you
Yes I must try and be thankful for my dad’s long life and his peaceful death
My dad was such a gentle unassuming person and so thoroughly decent but overall he was pragmatic
He said to me years ago that he shouldn’t be still alive
I think he felt he was a burden
I know for him he’s gone as he would have wanted
He died as he lived peacefully and without any fuss
Sorry for your loss.
Heart failure will have been caused by an underlying condition. Sometimes the underlying condition hasn't been explained very well by a doctor or isn't known.
Sorry for your loss.
Thoughts are with you and your family .keep safe .keep strong keep the precious memories close to your heart .❤
Sorry for your loss.
I think the research is still out about the full effects of Covid 19. There are research papers from USA and UK finding blood clotting and inflammation which may be a causative factor for the myriad symptoms of Covid 19. The only research I can remember relating to this is - medicalnewstoday.com - 'New study warns of COVID-19 impact on cardiovascular health' - there is a lot of research in the UK I think from Oxford or Cambridge looking at similar C19 effects I think, including blood clots blocking blood vessels causing strokes and heart attacks as well as inflammation in different blood vessel layers.
It does appear to be a complicated virus and I'm guessing it will take months or even years to fully understand it.
however covid has been known to damage all organs in the body so this could be
Sorry you lost your Dad at this time
So sorry for your loss and really sad you're going through all this.
I hope you get some answers and closure xxxx
Hi AnneFo,
I am so sorry for your loss.
My own mother died in a care home of Ischaemic Heart Disease and other issues on 30th March. I will never know if Covid was involved in her death - as they didn't test for it ... which I thought was a missed opportunity (not for her ... but to understand if Covid was prevalent in the home).
Obviously I miss Mum ... but I've known for 4 years that she had a fragile heart - inoperable because of her comorbidities. So I made a 300 mile round-trip to see her every month 'just in case'. I enjoyed those visits because we used to go out for posh grub. 
TBH, for me, whether she had Covid or not is not so important. I can't but help it might have been implicated - but I know she was on her way to a party in the home when she passed away. She also largely missed the dreadful lockdown which would have caused her untold distress - as she already had been unable to see visitors for 3-4 weeks when she passed away ... due to early lockdown in her care home.
As a 61 yo bloke ... I'm just glad that my Mum has been such a big part of my life to date ... and I am hopeful we will have a memorial event when this is all over.
I hope you can look back things on the enjoyable things from your Dad's life rather than focus on the sadness of his passing. It helps me a lot.
May both our parents RIP.
Best wishes,
David
Thank you David for your kindness
Very sorry that you have lost your mum I lost my mum last year
Was it known your mum had heart disease?
my dad had heart failure which I understand is totally different from heart disease so I could have accepted more if he had died of heart failure
But as someone else commented it’s highly likely he had heart disease undiagnosed
I wonder had it been then would he still be alive
I gather your mum died suddenly with heart disease
it was the suddenness with my dad that I don’t understand
Had he had a heart attack that would equate with the suddenness to me but heart disease seems more of a chronic condition that would have been apparent over a period of time
Hi Anne,
I wrote in another posting in this string. Really the heart disease and heart failure are almost certainly related. The IHD probably caused the HF - though you may not have known it. My Mum has knowingly had heart disease for 20 years (she had a heart attack in 1999). I probably inherited mine from her. Nevertheless I am grateful she went quickly.
My Dad and his sister (a maiden aunt) had very slow and lingering deaths about 4 years ago (my Dad having been ill with a form of dementia for nearly 20 years). I was with them both when they passed. Mum was saved from their sad experience. Suddenness is a shock ... and hard to deal with for those left behind ... but it is a great way to exit if you can.
I'm sure my Mum just didn't want a fuss.
Best wishes again,
David
David your compassion and kindness through your words of wisdom are a testament to what makes this forum so special .
Thanks, Milkfairy.
That's very kind of you to say. I am 13+ years on from a CABGx4, still only 61.
I am not as rich as a could have been but I am wealthy beyond measure having a wonderful partner, 3 grown up kids, 3 grand children, still working, and travelled a lot since my CABG. Heart disease doesn't have to be the end of pleasure. 
Best wishes,
David
Hi StillConcerned
... tbh they don't really know what causes IHD/CAD to the extent that they can give you a magic pill to cure it.
All we (as patients, and they, as doctors) know is that there are a number of risks factors, e.g. diet, blood pressure, cholesterol, etc. etc. You can manage them all ... and still die of a heart attack. The cardiologist that diagnosed me - who was held up as a model for his patients - fit, good weight, plenty of exercise etc. etc. - died of a heart attack on a beach in Cuba in his early 50s. Ironic.
I had a serious cardiac event aged 47 (unstable angina, CABG x 4 ... narrowly missed a heart attack etc). I had few other risk factors. I was told it was likely genetically linked ... and I should advise my sons (teenagers and young adults, then) that they were at increased risk of developing heart disease young.
So I'll choose 'inherited' as a loose description ... but it doesn't absolve me from doing all the good stuff to live as full a life as I can ;-).
I have it on good authority (Prof Sir Nilesh Samani, medical director of the BHF, bhf.org.uk/what-we-do/our-p... in a talk he gave at the BHF that genetic research is very much at the heart of modern thinking about heart disease, especially how some people are affected ... and not others. (I actually knew about the genetic link already ... but knowing it doesn't change things ... it's not a crutch that helps :-))
That's my understanding which suits me ... but if you have another that works for you, that's great. Ultimately we have to eat well, exercise some, and mind our weight.
StillConcerned
What about those of us living with non obstructive coronary artery disease ?
I didn’t realise there was non obstructive heart disease
Thought it was plaque and furring up of arteries that caused the arteries to become blocked or partially blocked
Microvascular and vasospastic angina are types of non obstructive coronary artery disease.
They cause a temporary narrowing of the coronary bloodvessels due to spasms.
In 6% of heart attacks no blockages are found.
I love the picture you posted of your dad.
I lost my dad the year my daughter was born she's now 25.
He died very suddenly 6 months after he was diagnosed with Heart failure.
I hope you have been helped by David's kind words.
The main underlying health condition in men under 65 dying from coronavirus is ischmaetic heart disease. 
Hot sweats
Now what?....
Fear of Dying 
New here with diagnosed heart failure
