I don’t know much about what types of “acute triggering events” lead to fatal arrhythmias. Stress does appear to be one such trigger, however:
“Episodes of acute emotional stress can have significant adverse effects on the heart. Acute emotional stress can produce left ventricular contractile dysfunction, myocardial ischemia, or disturbances of cardiac rhythm. Although these abnormalities are often only transient, their consequences can be gravely damaging and sometimes fatal. Despite the many descriptions of catastrophic cardiovascular events in the setting of acute emotional stress, the anatomical substrate and physiological pathways by which emotional stress triggers cardiovascular events are only now being characterized, aided by the advent of functional neuroimaging. Recent evidence indicates that asymmetric brain activity is particularly important in making the heart more susceptible to ventricular arrhythmias. Lateralization of cerebral activity during emotional stress may stimulate the heart asymmetrically and produce areas of inhomogeneous repolarization that create electrical instability and facilitate the development of cardiac arrhythmias.”
http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=207958
“Episodes of acute emotional stress can have significant adverse effects on the heart. ...”
Sounds like they’re describing “broken heart syndrome”.
Myocardial ischemia would show up in the blood tests—heart enzymes. “Often only transient.” Exactly. Who hasn’t had a transient heart disturbance upon getting an emotional shock?
Her brother also says she was a calm individual. Her Catholic faith, and also her practice of Subud meditation, one would think, would help see her through what may or may not have been a traumatic and anxious situation for her.
Puentes didn’t act as if he were traumatized by the situation. He was taking selfies! Hollstein swam to shore because he got tired of waiting, he said; but he also said Fuddy appeared to be in no distress.
They all made it a point to note how calm and collected everyone was. I didn’t hear Fuddy exclaiming in fear on the video, or while in the water, either.
She probably had no problem floating, being as heavy as she was and having her life vest on. Probably wasn’t cold, either, for obvious reasons of insulation.
They won’t be doing any functional imaging on Fuddy. If they ever do release the full results of the autopsy, then maybe we’ll know what went into their determination of the cause.