In February, Violet and Floyd Hartwig, who married in 1947, died five hours apart at their Easton, California, ranch. They were holding hands when Mr. Hartwig, 90, passed away. Mrs. Hartwig, 89, died five hours later. The couple’s hospice beds were pushed together so they could be as close as possible. Though the Hartwigs had suffered many health problems, they were active right up until the end of their lives.
More Hartwigs
There are other stories of partners who have been together many years and die right after each other. Some partners may find it too difficult to go on when the love of their life passes away.
- Irene and Bernard Jordan
In January, British couple Irene and Bernard Jordan died within one week of each other. They had been married for fifty years. Last June, Mr. Jordan made headlines when he snuck out of his rest home to attend a ceremony commemorating the 70th anniversary of D-Day.
- June Carter Cash and Johnny Cash
Country singers June Carter Cash and Johnny Cash are probably the most famous example. They were married for thirty-five years. She died on May 15, 2003, from complications following heart surgery, and he passed away four months later.
Broken Heart Syndrome
Broken heart syndrome, also called Takotsubo (stress) cardiomyopathy, is a medically documented condition named after a Japanese octopus trap. It is triggered by stress, and most people are only temporarily afflicted, but it can cause death in certain circumstances.
Causes
The condition is brought on by intense emotional or physical stress including:
- Death of a loved one
- Sudden illness
- Frightening medical diagnosis
- Natural disaster
- Job loss
- Domestic Abuse
- Losing a substantial amount of money
- Divorce
Symptoms
The symptoms of stress cardiomyopathy are very comparable to those associated with heart attacks such as:
- Shortness of breath
- Chest pain
People with this condition typically don’t have blockages in their coronary arteries, while heart attack suffers usually do.
Another sign of stress cardiomyopathy is the left ventricle of the heart (which is its main pumping chamber) balloons outward. On x-rays, this looks very similar to a take-tsubo, which is a round-bottomed, narrow-necked jar used in Japan for catching octopuses.
Women and Stress Cardiomyopathy
Over ninety percent of stress cardiomyopathy cases are in women, and the primary age range is 58 to 75 years old. The condition was first identified in Japan in 1990. Until recently, it has not been routinely diagnosed in the United States. It is estimated approximately six percent of females evaluated for heart attacks actually have stress cardiomyopathy. The majority of patients recover relatively quickly and suffer no long-term heart issues.
The Notebook
Nicholas Sparks’s 1996 New York Times’s bestseller The Notebook is a romantic novel based on a true story, and the conclusion is comparable to the Hartwigs’ deaths. It was made into a movie starring Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, James Garner and Gena Rowlands, and it was released in 2004. The film begins in the present when the main characters, Allie and Noah, are old and infirm. The movie flashes back to the start of their relationship, right before World War II. Allie comes from a wealthy southern family, and Noah works at a lumberyard. They have a passionate summer romance, but Allie’s parents did not approve. The relationships ends, and Noah goes off to war. Fourteen years later the couple is reunited. The movie goes back and forth between past and present. It ends with Noah visiting Allie in her nursing home and them falling asleep together in her bed. They pass away during the night, and the next morning, a nurse finds them holding hands in bed.
A long-lasting, loving marriage is something few couples are lucky to experience. If you are fortunate enough to achieve it, it may be difficult to have the will to live after your partner dies.