Woman Died Of COVID-19 Heart Attack Just 23 Minutes After Dialing Ambulance Service

KEY POINTS

The ex-council worker was found dead by paramedics at her home in England
She dialled 999 on Nov. 8, but died before the ambulance arrived
The coroner said she had an acute cardiovascular event caused by COVID-19

A woman in England died of a heart attack caused by COVID-19, less than 30 minutes after calling an ambulance to her home.

The details about the incident were made public recently during an inquest.

According to local media reports, the woman – identified as 66-year-old former council worker Patricia Brown – was found dead by paramedics at her home in North Staffordshire, a county in the West Midlands. The woman had dialed 999 on Nov. 8, but before the ambulance could arrive at her place, she died, StokeonTrentLive reported.

"She called an ambulance complaining of shortness of breath and chest pain," assistant coroner Mark Henley was quoted as saying. "The total time between the 999 call first being placed and them arriving at her home is 23 minutes."

"They gained entry using a key safe for which she has given the number for when she called 999. It was a relatively short period of time," he said, adding: "The crew found her already dead."

During the inquest, it was revealed Brown had previously battled breast cancer, but she had recovered on Oct. 21 last year. However, before finding out about her recovery, she had already tested positive for COVID-19 on Oct. 11, the Daily Record reported.

Within a few weeks she was starting to recover, but still felt "shaky in her legs with shortness of breath," one of her family members said.

"She was born in Wolstanton and worked at Stoke-on-Trent City Council for 25 years. She had no related illnesses," her sister Christine Sturge said. "She was ill with Covid. She called for an ambulance but passed away before they arrived... We would hate to think that she lay suffering for a long time by herself."

Coroner Henley gave the medical cause of death as an acute cardiovascular event caused by a COVID-19 infection.

Health officials said Wednesday the percentage of people testing positive for COVID-19 has decreased in all U.K. countries, apart from Northern Ireland. The percentage of people testing positive continued to decrease in England, Wales and Scotland in the week ending Jan. 22. With this, the country announced relaxations in COVID-19 restrictions, including mandatory face masks.