There are times after an intensive coughing bout when you heave, and let out a slow, “I almost coughed up a lung.” However, for a 35-year-old-man, the phrase was quite literal.
As reported by Just Dubai, the man was admitted to the ICU with chronic heart failure. Due to the man’s history with poor heart health, a pacemaker had been placed in case the heart gets blocked completely. Other devices, whose technical medical jargon we were unable to decipher, were placed for the management of acute heart failure.
But two days later, his problems got worse. He coughed up small volumes of blood and mucus, which increased the strain on his lungs. After an extreme session of coughing, he expectorated an intact cast of the right bronchial tree.
For all the biology jargon deficient people, this part.
After one week, he died from complications of heart failure.
A Redditor tried explaining the reason behind that, and it sounds really painful.
When the blood is pumped out of the Left Ventricle it goes through the aortic valve to get to the body, the aortic valve has 3 Cusp (or little flaps, think of them as doors) that open and close to allow the blood to go through. A Bicuspid Aortic Valve is a disease that 1-2% of the population have, in which the aortic valve only has two cusps. It’s more prone to Stenosis (or narrowing of the opening) needing for it to be replaced at a younger age than most people. This gentleman had it replaced with a Bioprosthetic valve. The valve takes animal tissue, from a horse or a cow and they create a valve out of it to be placed in humans.
So the next time someone uses the phrase, remember this man and hope that no one goes through what this man went through. Ever.
