Man died after heart condition was initially misdiagnosed at CUH, inquest hears

Family members Tracey Murphy, Gary Smith, Yvonne Murphy, Willie Murphy, and Suzanne Edwards with Keerti Krishnan Murphy at the inquest into the death of her husband Pat Murphy at the Courthouse, Washington Street, Cork. Picture: Dan Linehan

A young father died after his acute heart condition was initially misdiagnosed and a broken CT scanner delayed a scan in Cork University Hospital (CUH).

Patrick Murphy, 34, a chemical engineer with a PhD and father of a 17-month-old son, from Glanmire, Cork, suffered sudden and very severe chest pain while watching a football match on September 1, 2021.

A scan would later reveal he had suffered an aortic dissection, a potentially deadly condition in which a tear occurs in the inner layer of the body’s main artery — the aorta.

With efficient diagnosis and treatment, people with this condition can survive.

However, Mr Murphy’s diagnosis was not made until some 24 hours after he presented to CUH when he had a CT scan, an inquest into his death at Cork Coroner’s Court heard.

The scan confirmed a type A dissecting aortic aneurysm which had ruptured.

He underwent emergency surgery, but this was unsuccessful and he was pronounced dead after 1pm on September 3, 2021.

The night he became unwell, Mr Murphy was watching the Ireland vs Portugal World Cup qualifier game and became “very animated” when Cristiano Ronaldo was about to score a goal.

Moments later, he started clutching his chest, sat down, and held his neck.

“He told me he wasn’t feeling OK, that we should ring South Doc. It wasn’t like Pat to ask for a doctor, until something frightened him or was seriously wrong,” his wife, Keerti Murphy, said.

They called an ambulance, which was delayed, so they ordered a taxi. Mr Murphy was dropped to CUH emergency department in agony on September 2, 2021, at 12.55am. Nine hours later, he was given a bed, Mrs Murphy said.

Initially, the hospital thought Mr Murphy may have been suffering kidney stones. His CT scan was pushed out to the following day as the one in the emergency department was broken, he told his wife.

Later that night, gardaí called to her door and told them her husband was very ill. “Pat had been taken into cardiac surgery. Piecing the dribbles together of information coming in from A&E nurses and the cardiac surgeon, I was told he had taken a turn, had a cardiac arrest, and was in surgery for a burst valve,” Mrs Murphy said.

At the hospital, a nurse held her hand and suggested she call a priest.

I was directed by the priest to kiss Pat’s forehead and whisper that I love him and that Rohan [their son] loves him too. Then I heard the monitors flatline for the last time. I felt the pain and anguish ripping through my body. I could barely keep my footing. Now our home will always feel incomplete.

A “haunting and scarring” meeting with the hospital in November 2022 revealed that Mr Murphy had been waiting for nine hours in the hospital, and that he did not have timely access to scans “that could have rerouted the misdiagnosis”.

“I have learned through the Aortic Dissection Charitable Trust that, with proper intervention and well-documented symptoms, many lives could be saved,” Mrs Murphy said. “My grief is still bitter, wondering how different things might have been with timely interventions.”

Cork University Hospital sent a letter to Mrs Murphy, dated September, 18, 2024, saying the hospital was “truly sorry” and had learned lessons from Mr Murphy’s case.

“We apologise unreservedly and sincerely for the failings in care during Patrick’s admission to Cork University Hospital and for the failure to diagnose an aortic dissection." The letter added: 

A review of Patrick’s care highlighted that a number of elements were not delivered as promptly as they should have been.

Consultant neuroradiologist Gerald Wyse said that one of the two CT scanners at CUH wasn’t functioning for 21 hours when Mr Murphy was in hospital. However, Dr Wyse said that even if Mr Murphy had gone for the CT scan in the first instance, it wouldn’t have shown the aortic dissection.

He said that both of the CT scanners, which were in place at CUH in 2021, have been replaced and a third CT scan has been purchased.

“We need additional capacity in our system,” he said. Doireann O’Mahony, counsel for the family with Dr John O’Mahony, said it is now “absolutely vital” for the Murphy family to get information out to both the public and to emergency department rooms about this condition, so that symptoms can be recognised and CT scans can be ordered quickly for diagnosis. With prompt diagnosis, aortic dissection is survivable in the majority for cases, she said. 

The inquest continues.