Heart Disease and sudden death

[BekeyWekey]

Hi, I have a couple questions about my husband who died suddenly at 35 in his sleep 3 weeks ago.  He was overweight, a smoker, and a regular drinker, but aside from a recent cyst removal he appeared to be overall healthy.  He was also taking oxycodone for a surgery 3 days before.  The coroner has ruled it heart disease pending toxicology reports.  There is no history of heart disease on his maternal side, but his father was adopted, so there is no medical history from his paternal side.  My dad is also adopted, and we dont have a medical history on that side either.  So my questions are will I ever know what exactly happened, meaning will I ever know the type (if you will) of heart disease.  It was apparent that it wasnt painful, and it didnt appear that he ever woke up.  Secondly, could a combination of oxycodone and alcohol have caused it or rather just made it happen sooner rather than later.  Thirdly, I have 2 small kiddos.  They are 3 and 6, so do I need to be getting their hearts checked on a regular basis because their father had this happen.  Thanks in advance for your help.

[ed34]

I am so sorry for your loss. Asking me the cause of death is impossible over the internet, I just don't have enough information. It can be hard to come to terms with for quite some time, but it's one of those things we have to live with and I know from personal experience how hard that is. Alcohol is a poison if abused and it certainly wouldn't have helped the situation. However, I think the smoking was likely the larger contributor. With regards to your children, they are too young at this time to be checked. My suggestion would be to steer them away from cigarettes, exercise regular and eat as healthily as possible. Once they reach 17-18, I would have their cholesterol and blood pressure checked. These are major contributors to heart disease.

[bobqin]

have your babies to check.