The woman underwent a heart transplant, but doctors don’t blame this for her death
(Mirror Daily, United States) – A woman from Nashville, Tennessee, died a few hours after she gave birth to her first baby. Despite having received a heart transplant 7 years ago, the woman showed no signs of illness. Also, doctors think her death was not caused by this transplant.
On Tuesday, at 2:40 a.m., Meg Johnson, aged 31, gave birth to a healthy baby girl in the Medical Center of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. Her husband, Nathan, sat at her side and helped her take care of little Eilee Kate. However, around 9 a.m., the woman started feeling sick. The doctors rushed immediately but, only a few minutes later, helplessly observed how they couldn’t do anything to save her.
Was the heart transplant to blame?
Seven years ago, Johnson underwent a heart transplant. This happened because the muscles of her heart became inflamed, and she developed myocarditis. Even so, doctors don’t think this was the cause of her death. However, myocarditis poses some risks during pregnancy.
Women who had suffered from this condition are at a higher risk of developing a different heart condition during pregnancy, namely peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM). This is a type of heart failure which occurs rarely during the last trimester of pregnancy. However, its symptoms are really similar to problems occurring often during this last trimester, so it is quite difficult to diagnose it.
Johnsons’ friends started a fundraiser for them
Doctors are now trying to find out what the cause of the woman’s death was. In the meantime, the Johnson family’s friends have started a GoFundMe account, and aim to raise $400,000 for Nathan and his baby daughter.
Only one day after this project was started, they managed to raise the impressive sum of $330,000. Nathan is a Christian musician, who raises money by touring and playing on the road, and who produces his own music. This fund will allow him to take some time off these activities to take care of his daughter, and even start a college fund for her.
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