A PREGNANT woman and her infant son, who had been delivered by emergency Caesarean section, died after she collapsed outside a Dublin shopping centre due to a pre-existing heart abnormality.
Katalin Erika Strouhal (32), Ros na Rí, Navan, Co Meath, was rushed to Connolly hospital on April 4th, 2009, after she collapsed.
Ms Strouhal, who was Hungarian, had arrived to go shopping with a friend and her daughter Valerie (2) at Blanchardstown Shopping Centre, when she suddenly collapsed. She was taken to hospital where doctors attempted to save her unborn son’s life by emergency Caesarean section.
The boy, Kristian, who was at eight months gestation, was delivered at 3.05pm but died an hour later as a result of having been deprived of oxygen when his mother collapsed.
A postmortem found Ms Strouhal died as a result of a pre-existing structural abnormality of the heart. It was most likely caused by a previous undiagnosed myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) or a congenital heart defect, the inquest heard.
Speaking after the inquest, Jan Strouhal, who was visibly upset, said his wife had no idea she had a health problem.