Seaford man dies after heart attack at Eastbourne DGH

Michael John Cordiner, who was from Chyngton Road in Seaford, died at Eastbourne DGH on September 11 2019 due to a cardiac arrest.

An inquest at Eastbourne Town Hall on Thursday (October 8), heard Mr Cordiner had a history of heart disease and hypertension, and had previously suffered from two heart attacks.

Dr Bayles said, “He had significant heart history.”

It was found following his death that Mr Cordiner also suffered from Hodgkins Lymphoma, a rare form of cancer that affects the lymphatic system, the inquest heard.

He was a previously heavy smoker, so had severe lung conditions too, which caused breathlessness ever since his coronary artery bypass surgery in 2016.

Prior to his death he was waiting for an operation, and needed a PICC line inserted. A few minutes after the first attempt was made to insert the line, Mr Cordiner collapsed.

A number of medical professionals present at the inquest, including a pathologist and Mr Cardiner’s GP, all concluded that the PICC line attempted insertion was not linked to his collapse.

Dr Wayomi Perera, a respiratory consultant, said, “The fluid in his lungs was because his heart was weaker. Weaker than we thought.

“Between the inflammation and the stress of what he was going through, he was producing a lot of stress hormones, and that probably put stress on his heart.

“That may have caused his heart to go into an irregular rhythm and stop.”

A post mortem found Mr Cordiner died of cardiac arrest due pulmonary edema – fluid on the lungs. This was contributed to by ischemic and hypertensive heart disease, the report said.

East Sussex coroner Alan Craze ruled that Mr Cordiner’s death was due to natural causes.