I have a Hiatus hernia and read this case report could this happen to me if had similar symptoms?

A 24-year-old white woman arrived at the emergency room complaining of sharp, left-sided abdominal pain over a 24 to 36 hour period. The pain was initially limited to her left abdomen, which gradually spread to the epigastric area and intensified, particularly while taking deep breaths. Other symptoms included nausea and vomiting. Upon palpation, her abdomen was soft with slight tenderness in the left upper quadrant and epigastrium. She had apparently experienced similar discomforts 6 months prior to admission, but the pain resolved itself after 1 to 2 hours. As a result, she had not sought medical assistance.
An abdominal CT scan was performed 4 hours following admission to rule out pancreatitis and a chest CT scan at 5 and one-half hours to rule out diaphragmatic rupture. While returning to the ER from her CT scans, the decedent appeared to be hyperventilating with shortness of breath and her abdominal pain began radiating to the midsternal region. Seven minutes later, she became unresponsive, apneic, and pulseless. Death was pronounced approximately 40 minutes later, a little more than 6 hours after admission.
The decedent did not have a significant medical history; she did not smoke or drink alcohol and was not pregnant either before or at the time of her death. Neither she nor her mother could recall any previous traumatic or physically strenuous episode at any point that may have elicited the decedent’s discomforts.
Autopsy was performed approximately 5 hours after pronouncement. The decedent’s external examination did not reveal any discernible injuries or other abnormalities.
Internal examination revealed a 4-cm defect of the left hemidiaphragm with smooth edges through which the omentum, severely dilated and fluid-filled stomach, transverse colon, and a portion of the spleen had herniated into the left chest cavity. There was no excess fluid present in either the pleural, pericardial, or peritoneal cavities. Both lungs were edematous and showed scattered anthracosis; the left lung was collapsed. The liver was also mildly congested with severe hepatomegaly. Toxicology revealed only the presence of caffeine.

Tagged with: abdominal ct scan • apneic • chest cavity • chest ct scan • decedent • drink alcohol • epigastrium • excess fluid • hemidiaphragm • hyperventilating • left chest • left sided abdominal pain • left upper quadrant • old white woman • omentum • pancreatitis • pericardial • peritoneal cavities • smooth edges • transverse colon

Filed under: Colon Health Questions