How often do couples die within days of each other?

athena55, BSN, RN · Jul 11, 2009

Hello KY_RN:

Check out "Broken Heart Syndrome"

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/press_releases/2005/02_10_05.html

kerric511 · Jul 11, 2009

Well now ... It is intriguing to see, great article btw athena, thx.

This did not happen while I was on shift, but I heard about it the next morning. An 80-something y/o woman, came in to the ER suffering a stroke, she was DOA. When the husband was told that his wife had passed, he had a heart attack and died moments later, right there in the ER.

superramvette · Jul 11, 2009

My uncles mother and father passed away within a week of each other. She died from cancer and he sat in his chair for a week without saying much. Died in that chair from natural causes. The natural causes in my mind were broken heart.

Strange how powerful the mind is.

ShayRN · Jul 11, 2009

Just this week I admitted a gentleman who lost his wife at our facility on 7/4. He told his family that he didn't want to live without her and died hours after her funeral.

miss81, BSN, RN · Jul 11, 2009

I've seen an older parent suffer a heart attack when told about their child's passing. There children were grown adults but I guess it's still their baby! Very Sad!

1TachyRN, RN · Jul 11, 2009

there was an article on msn a few months back about this:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26980587/from/et/

Kellacan · Jul 11, 2009

My grandmother had been in & out of a rehab center for a while; in pain for as long as I can remember. My grandfather would visit when he could. Then, my grandmother was admitted to the hospital.....not shortly after, my grandfather was admitted to the same hospital, same floor. After sometime we decided it was best to take her to see him, which we did; he was going down hill pretty fast & we expected he would not make it much longer. We got a call at 3 am a few days later- my grandmother had a heart attack. The next day, we got a call that my grandfather had also passed. They had been married for 60 years. Still gets me choked up because it was just in November, but wanted to share.

Trauma Columnist · Jul 11, 2009

My grandparents (father's parents) died within an hour of each other and neither knew the other died.

Happened in the early 60's (I was still pretty small but grew up with the story). They lived on a farm in MO and grandpa went to the barn to milk the cows and apparently died of a heart attack, grandmother was in the kitchen and also apparently died of an MI. One of the son's found them.

UM Review RN, ASN, RN · Jul 11, 2009

I took care of a wonderful lady for years who was bedbound and whose husband lived in a nursing home because he had Alzheimer's. When he died, she explained to us that she no longer had anything to live for, and to please not attempt any extraordinary measures, but she was "ready" --and she died within 10 days.

leslie :-D · Jul 11, 2009

there was an article on msn a few months back about this:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26980587/from/et/

thank you for this article, 1tachy!!

it is so very true, and working in hospice, i have observed this phenomenon over and over again.

i am actually going through this right now...

where my mil is on hospice and my fil recently learned about mom's terminality. (she had initially kept the dx from him)

yesterday she told me, she was looking at her husband and noticed that he was "failing"...

and that likely, he will die shortly after her.

there is no doubt in my mind, this will happen...

and hope it happens.

i cannot imagine, after 60 yrs of marriage, them being apart.

it's heartbreaking for the children and loved ones:

but as the article states, they wouldn't have it any other way.

it's real, and it happens.

and to answer your question op- it happens quite often.

as it should. :twocents:

leslie

coffee4metech · Jul 11, 2009

My grandpa died of a rare cancer of the red blood cells and passed very suddenly . My grandma was never the same after that and died 2 months later in her sleep of no known cause . They were married for 60 yrs and had 4 children together .