As told by his wife Mendy
My husband Mike was a healthy, active 50-year-old who suddenly passed on December 19, 2024, due to an unprovoked pulmonary embolism.
His autopsy listed a saddle and bilateral main and right and left pulmonary thromboembolism, with complete 100% occlusions within the main right and left pulmonary arteries.
The night before he passed, we came home from working out (we worked out 5 times a week), he went upstairs and came down to tell me he thought he might have had a panic attack. He described a pain in his chest that lasted a few seconds and then went away.
We went on with our evening with him eating dinner and feeling okay. He woke up the next day feeling like he couldn’t get a deep breath, but he went to work. When he came home, he carried our new microwave that had just been delivered into the house and said he didn’t feel the best. He still felt like he couldn’t get a deep breath and didn’t think he would work out.
I had him rest while I wrapped Christmas presents, and we talked about whether he should go in. I Googled panic attack vs. heart attack and what he was feeling lined up with a panic attack. After dinner, he went to the bathroom. As he walked out, he said he thought he needed to get checked out and then fainted in my arms. I was able to catch him and get him to the ground. He came to quickly and said he felt terrible.
I called an ambulance and he got up and walked to the top of our stairs, waiting for the ambulance. Once they arrived, they assessed him and after a few minutes, he threw up and then fainted again. By the time he arrived at the hospital, he was in cardiac arrest.
I don’t believe they ever knew in the ER that he had a blood clot. At no time did he complain of leg pain (he had residual deep vein thrombosis in his right leg) or any swelling.
In recent years, he has experienced this feeling of not being able to take a deep breath a few times. He went to the doctor, and they did a chest X-ray and tested him for sleep apnea.
My brother-in-law and children are all nervous that the same thing will happen to them. The coroner let us know that blood clots could be hereditary. My mother-in-law has had DVT and PE in recent years and her doctor never said anything about that.
My advice to others is to be aware that blood clots can be hereditary and you don’t always have symptoms.
