Stress and Anxiety Had Caused Heart Attack Leading to Death of a Woman at Checkpoint

Gordon Matenga, the coroner investigating the death of the 56-year-old Hamilton woman, Elizabeth Gilbertson, at the checkpoint for breath test last year, has found that stress and anxiety resulted in heart attack, which caused the death. Ms. Elizabeth was on her way back home after a dinner with her cousins on June 3, last year when she had to stop at a compulsory breath-testing checkpoint on Cambridge Rd. Her initial breath test showed positive for alcohol, as she had had couple of drinks at the dinner. Ms. Elizabeth had been asked to complete a breath screening test inside a booze bus.

Her timid nature made her panic and nervous and this made it impossible for her to blow into the device. The woman eventually collapsed on the floor and she suffered a severe heart attack from which she couldn’t recover. It was reported that Ms. Elizabeth was treated with respect and courtesy by the police officials and her blood alcohol was well below the limit.

Matenga concluded that Ms. Elizabeth’s previous violent experiences in South Africa along with her shy nature could have contributed to high stress and anxiety levels leading to heart attack and death of the woman.

Source-Medindia