The fact that a cardiac arrest was the thing that killed this man is being used on another thread to suggest that being worried about Obama catching the flu from this guy is silly.
My question is this — Would a coroner in stating cause of death list it as “acute myocardial infarction”, or do they go on to list all of the “as a complication of” indicators as well? I don’t often look at death certificates!
For instance, I know that my mother’s cause of death was massive organ failure, but I don’t know if on her death certificate they included the fact that she was in a stroke-induced coma for months before that, and I don’t know if they also included the fact that the strokes themselves were brought on by a diabetic crisis...
I guess what I’m trying to say is that just because this man died of a heart attack, and had other medical problems doesn’t mean that this flu wasn’t the precipitating event and that his body couldn’t fight it off DUE to the pre-existing conditions. After all, in the articles it says that this attacks mostly those in the ‘prime of life’ in the worst way. I’m not aware that they have said it DOESN’T affect others in other age groups (especially immuno-compromised groups like this man belonged to).
Does anyone have any information to share that can help me understand these topics better as I read these articles?