Doctors Say This Common Symptom of Grief Will Kill You if You Let It

I could have been another statistic.

Joel Eisenberg

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Yuris Alhumaydy; Unplash

How did I get here?

120/80 is normal. A bit less than that is optimal.

My blood pressure reading three months following the death of my wife was 198/130.

I answered my own question. My wife died.

That’s how I got here.

That particular doctor’s visit was five months ago, as this week represents eight months since I unexpectedly lost Lorie.

It was a fraught visit, to say the least.

The doctor asked me how long my pressure had been so elevated. I told him I honestly did not know as my wife passed three months before and I was never diligent with doctors’ appointments.

He told me if the numbers were stress-related due to my then-recent loss, it was understandable. He also told me, however, if those numbers represented a consistent blood pressure read I ran the risk of suffering an imminent stroke or heart attack as a result.

He struck a nerve. Lorie died from complications of a major hemorrhagic stroke, caused by the bursting of an undetected brain aneurysm.

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Joel Eisenberg

Joel Eisenberg is an award-winning author, screenwriter, and producer. The Oscar in the profile pic isn’t his but he’s scheming. WGA and Pen America member.