I was just wondering last night when I was watching 'Three's Company', did they ever say on the special with Diane Sawyer what brought on the condition that John never knew he had? Was it something that could've been in the family's medical history, or just could it have been the cause of high blood pressure, or high cholestroal(sorry if the spelling is wrong). Or was it just something that just happened out of the blue? They never did say . :quest: :jack

In their lawsuit, the family is alleging that the hospital, through its negligence, brought on the condition known as death. I agree with them that him dying like that is awful fishy.

John was admitted to hospital under what they thought was food poisoning after his death the hospital said it was an Aortic(sp?) Disection. Johns family then sued the Hospital for negligence, although the hospital at least believe it was an Aortic Disection that killed John.

What I really can't understand is, if it was an Aortic Disection which is caused by a set of things (Genetics, High Blood Pressure, High Cholesterol) then why would this not have been picked up in Medical Examinations - I assumed for Health Insure that a Celebrity would have to have many of these, more than a normal person. Diane Sawyer said on the ABC Special that if it was a genetic heart problem it could have been detected if John had a CAT Scan.

Yeah, plus who knows,didn't Tex Ritter have some heart problems too? It could have been genetic. Who knows?

Not all Aorta Dissection is detectable even with chest MRI/CT Scan with dye. JR may have had an Aorta Dissection that was undetectable or caused from trauma such as being hit in the chest in a car accident, at work or whatever that caused a tear that was not diagnosed cause there was no sign of problems till the tear burst and he unfortunatly passed.

The most common site of dissection is the first few centimeters of the ascending aorta, with 90% occurring within 10 centimeters of the aortic valve. The second most common site is just distal to the left subclavian artery. Between 5% and 10% of dissections do not have an obvious intimal tearRace: Aortic dissection is more common in blacks than in whites and less common in Asians than in whites.

Sex: Male-to-female ratio is 3:1.

Age: Approximately 75% of dissections occur in those aged 40-70 years, with a peak in the range of 50-65 years.

The pain of aortic dissection typically is distinguished from the pain of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) by its abrupt onset.
Aortic dissection is life-threatening. The likelihood of death within the first 48 hours is 1% per hour for untreated patients. The disorder is curable with surgical repair if it is performed before aortic rupture. Less than half of patients with ruptured aorta survive.

Here's something from a 2003 "People."

Last I heard this condition had been there in him since birth. Is that incorrect info now?