Woman dies of heart failure, not due to pollution - Health Ministry

KUALA LUMPUR, July 7 (Bernama) -- The Health Ministry today stressed the cause of death of a woman in Johor Bahru was due to heart problems and not due to Pasir Gudang pollution.

Its Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said the woman was suffering from chronic illnesses, especially hypertension (high blood pressure) for the past 10 years and was admitted to the Sultan Ismail Hospital in Johor Bahru on July 5 due to breathing difficulties, persistent coughing for three days apart from swelling in the legs and fever.

“Based on the clinical presentation, the symptoms and the results of the examination showed that she was suffering from heart failure due to chronic health issues,” he said in a statement today.

He said checks found that the woman was suffering from acute high blood pressure, as well as breathing difficulties.

The statement was issued in response to the issue that went viral on social media yesterday which reported “breathlessness for the past few days due to air pollution leading to the death of a mother.”

“The medical team was working hard to treat the patient but her health conditions deteriorating fast and her death on July 6 was classified as decompensated heart failure.

“Checks carried out on the existing reports at the Sultan Ismail Hospital also found no records on the deceased obtaining treatment during the Sungai Kim Kim incident or since June 20 (when there was a report on the recurrence of school students suffering from breathing difficulties in Pasir Gudang),” said Dzulkefly.

The ministry also expressed its condolences to the victim’s husband and family members and ready to explain the cause of her death.

In the meantime, he advised the media and the public to respect the feelings of the woman’s family members as well as to prevent the dissemination of false information and any progress would be communicated from time to time.

-- BERNAMA