I Was Lying In Bed Next To My Wife. I

Posted on Fri, 13 Sep 2019

Question: i was lying in bed next to my wife. i was sleeping on my left side. one night i turned to see my wife flailing around with her legs kicking wildly and her arms swinging wildly. i watched her, not knowing what it was. then she stopped, so i stupidly figured she was o k. about 2 am i awoke again. i was lying in bed next to my wife then i noticed i did not hear her breathing. i felt her hand, it was cold. i felt her face, it was cold. i jumped up and tried shaking her. i then called 911. the emt's came in, but she was gone.

my question is this: was there anything i could have done, anything i should have done when i saw her flailing around, anything i should have done to save her life? this has been bothering me for ten years. she died on 2/19/2009.

Answered by Dr. Ilir Sharka (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
I would explain as follows:

Detailed Answer:
Hello!

Welcome to Ask a Doctor service!

My condolences, first of all!!

Regarding your concern, I would explain that your wife seems to have died from sudden cardiac death.

I don't think that the movements of her legs are suggestive of any alarming sign.

So, I don't think that you could have saved her in any way.

Usually, in such cases, the patients don't arrive in time in the hospital as death occurs in just a few seconds or minutes.

Hope you will find this information helpful!

Wishing good health,

Dr.Ilir Sharka,
Cardiologist

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Arnab Banerjee