A family has issued an urgent warning after a mother-of-three died from an undiagnosed heart condition just five weeks after giving birth. Cathy MacGuinness, 40, was taken to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney on Easter Sunday after suffering a cardiac arrest at home. She remained in an induced coma for nearly three weeks before passing away on Saturday evening.
Ms MacGuinness leaves behind her partner, Sebastian, and their three children: Zoe, seven, Rosie, three, and newborn Goldie. She had unknowingly been suffering from dilated cardiomyopathy, a condition that causes the heart to become enlarged and makes it difficult to pump blood efficiently. Her family believes that if she had been diagnosed and placed on medication, she would still be alive today.
Her sister-in-law, Gillian Binchy-MacGuinness, told the Daily Mail: “What’s so tragic is that Cathy’s death could have been avoided. As a mum myself, we often put our families ahead of ourselves and our health by not listening to our bodies. Our hope is that Cathy’s story has a silver lining and saves lives.”
Signs of dilated cardiomyopathy include fatigue, breathlessness during physical activity or while lying down, and swelling in the legs, ankles or stomach, along with palpitations, dizziness, chest pain and diminished exercise tolerance. Ms Binchy-MacGuinness added: “Cathy put her symptoms down to being a busy mum who was always on her feet. Our message to everyone, especially women, is to not dismiss symptoms and look after yourself.”
A close friend, Joanna Allen, wrote on a GoFundMe page: “She had this rare and extraordinary ability to really see you – to look at you and make you feel truly known, exactly as you are. Seb and her girls were her entire world, her greatest love, her proudest achievement, her reason for everything.” The fundraising page has raised over $150,000 (nearly £80,000) as the couple had no life insurance.
