Commonground
Senior Moderator
These are a few articles that I dug up, regarding a virulent attack on the heart due to Swine Flu. These would include victims with no underlying conditions.
October 16, 2009
Trinadad
Vishraj Maharaj is one of the confirmed victims of the H1N1 Influenza virus-a man who moved from healthy to heart failure within six days.
Maharaj, a 30-year-old truck driver and used-car businessman, died at 7.30 p.m. on Tuesday in the Intensive Care Unit of the San Fernando General Hospital (SFGH).
He was a non-smoker who drank no alcohol and had no history of serious illness.
But in his final days, family said, Maharaj's trembling body was wracked with pain, his lungs collapsed, he bled through the mouth and nose, and was kept alive by a ventilator until a third heart attack killed him.-snip-
http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_news?id=161544906
October 10th [article dated 10/17]
California
-snip-
San Diego County's first child to succumb to swine flu was Alitza Ortiz Sanchez, 5, of Otay Mesa, who died Oct. 10 at Rady Children's Hospital. Doctors described Alitza's case as extremely unusual — she suffered heart failure — and said most people who come down with the virus experience mild symptoms and recover within a few days.
-snip-
http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/oct/17/county-ers-see-surge-worried-parents/
Same girl:
They know the H1N1 virus had infiltrated the girl's cardiac muscles because enzymes that normally reside inside heart cells were flowing through her blood, a sure sign of significant tissue damage, Bradley said.
While it's common for influenza to infect muscles — that's why the flu often causes body aches — the virus rarely spreads to the heart. When it does, the result can be swift and deadly.
http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/oct/16/childs-death-flu-mystery/
South Korea
August 20, 2009
-snip-
Two people, including a man in his 50s who returned from Thailand early this month and a 63-year-old woman who had no overseas experience or links to confirmed flu patients, died Saturday and Sunday, respectively, becoming the nation's first fatalities from the disease.
"The two people died just five days after flu symptoms first showed. Medical staff who treated those patients said they were surprised by the quick development of the disease," said Jun Byung-yul, a senior official at the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"The findings show how important the first response at hospitals is," he added.
According to the attending experts, the flu virus caused inflammation in their hearts one and a half days after their first flu symptoms.
-snip-
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE/data/html_dir/2009/08/20/200908200050.asp
October 16, 2009
Trinadad
Vishraj Maharaj is one of the confirmed victims of the H1N1 Influenza virus-a man who moved from healthy to heart failure within six days.
Maharaj, a 30-year-old truck driver and used-car businessman, died at 7.30 p.m. on Tuesday in the Intensive Care Unit of the San Fernando General Hospital (SFGH).
He was a non-smoker who drank no alcohol and had no history of serious illness.
But in his final days, family said, Maharaj's trembling body was wracked with pain, his lungs collapsed, he bled through the mouth and nose, and was kept alive by a ventilator until a third heart attack killed him.-snip-
http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_news?id=161544906
October 10th [article dated 10/17]
California
-snip-
San Diego County's first child to succumb to swine flu was Alitza Ortiz Sanchez, 5, of Otay Mesa, who died Oct. 10 at Rady Children's Hospital. Doctors described Alitza's case as extremely unusual — she suffered heart failure — and said most people who come down with the virus experience mild symptoms and recover within a few days.
-snip-
http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/oct/17/county-ers-see-surge-worried-parents/
Same girl:
They know the H1N1 virus had infiltrated the girl's cardiac muscles because enzymes that normally reside inside heart cells were flowing through her blood, a sure sign of significant tissue damage, Bradley said.
While it's common for influenza to infect muscles — that's why the flu often causes body aches — the virus rarely spreads to the heart. When it does, the result can be swift and deadly.
http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/oct/16/childs-death-flu-mystery/
South Korea
August 20, 2009
-snip-
Two people, including a man in his 50s who returned from Thailand early this month and a 63-year-old woman who had no overseas experience or links to confirmed flu patients, died Saturday and Sunday, respectively, becoming the nation's first fatalities from the disease.
"The two people died just five days after flu symptoms first showed. Medical staff who treated those patients said they were surprised by the quick development of the disease," said Jun Byung-yul, a senior official at the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"The findings show how important the first response at hospitals is," he added.
According to the attending experts, the flu virus caused inflammation in their hearts one and a half days after their first flu symptoms.
-snip-
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE/data/html_dir/2009/08/20/200908200050.asp