Mum-of-four ‘died of a broken heart’ after losing family court battle
A medical expert at Hayley Gascoigne's inquest said: 'People, simply through emotional distress, can have a cardiac event'
A MUM-of-four "died of a broken heart" after losing a family court battle, an inquest into her death has heard.
Hayley Gascoigne, 32, collapsed on the public concourse after an "unfavourable outcome" at a family court hearing in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire on January 26 last year.
A two day inquest, which concluded today at Hull Coroner's Court, heard Hayley had hypertensive heart disease but this was not known at the time of her collapse.
According to the , senior Coroner Professor Paul Marks said he wondered whether "emotional upset - clearly Hayley was very disturbed and distressed - whether that can precipitate, in a vulnerable individual [with hypertensive heart disease], a cardiac disrhythmia".
Independent emergency medical expert Dr Francis Morris said: "We are increasingly recognising broken-hearted syndrome. People, simply through emotional distress, can have a cardiac event."
The coroner accepted this evidence during his short-form conclusion, which found that on the actual timeline, Hayley died from natural causes.
In his findings, he said the evidence "does not show there was a missed opportunity that would have avoided Hayley’s death".
Professor Marks said Hayley would have been an "excellent candidate" to be shocked out of arrest because she had healthy coronary arteries, but accepted expert evidence that 70 per cent of similar cardiac arrests - known as ventricular fibrillation - can be brought out by shocking within four minutes.
The coroner said the first paramedic on the scene, Gary Long, was by Hayley's side within five minutes, and would have needed another 90 seconds to deliver the shock.
Dr Morris had said patients suffering cardiac arrest with a shockable heart rhythm would not be expected to survive if the shock was delivered after six minutes, and had a best chance of survival if shocked within four minutes.
Previously, the inquest heard the first paramedic to appear at the scene “walked” up the circular staircase as Hayley's panicked family shouted at him to hurry up.
Detective Constable Mark Lilleyman, who was attending a separate criminal case at Hull Crown Court, said the paramedic who arrived was "walking up the stairs".
The detective said the paramedic "seemed to take a little while to maybe realise how serious the situation was".
Solicitor Nick Gray, representing the family, asked DC Lilleyman: "Was the paramedic moving with any particular urgency?"
DC Lilleyman replied: "If I'm honest he was just walking up."
DCI Tony Cockerill, who helped the paramedic perform CPR on Hayley, told the inquest the paramedic "did not look comfortable with the situation" and his "instinct" was to intervene.
The officer said he later overheard a senior female paramedic question her colleague on where his kit was.
The DCI told the court he heard words to the effect of: "The paramedic said 'I left it in the car, I'm sorry I thought it was just a fit'."
Family members were "shouting" at the first paramedic to "hurry up" as he came up the stairs, another officer told the court.
Detective Sergeant Michael Gotch, who was attending a separate case at the court, told the inquest he did not see the first paramedic use a defibrillator.
He said at one stage Hayley appeared to start breathing again and was placed in the recovery position before the paramedics arrived.
Hayley was pronounced dead in A&E at Hull Royal Infirmary at 3.58pm the same day, January 26 2017.
Consultant histopathologist Dr Ian Richmond said hypertension was the most probable cause of Hayley's fatal cardiac arrest.
The official cause of death given was "failure of the left ventricular [of the heart] due to the hypertensive heart disease".
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Officers at the scene searched the toilets for drug paraphernalia but found nothing to suggest she had taken anything, the court heard.
She was otherwise a "healthy lady" with no history of drug and alcohol abuse, the doctor told the inquest at Hull Coroners' Court.
The inquest heard a statement read on behalf of Hayley's younger sister Charlotte, who said the siblings were "extremely close" growing up.
Hayley, from Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, had three sons, now aged nine, eight and four, and a one-year-old daughter.
She was an avid dancer and studied for a diploma but worked as a carer due to poor job opportunities in the town, the statement said.
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