Inquest into the Death of Pauline Margaret DODD

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Pauline Margaret Dodd, 51, died of ischaemic heart disease at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital on 4 March 2014. She was an involuntary psychiatric patient with long-standing bipolar affective disorder, complicated by childhood rheumatic fever causing cardiac valve damage requiring prosthetic replacement. She presented with an infected breast lesion but resisted physical examination due to severe aversion to touch during acute psychiatric crisis. Cardiology input was sought but did not identify the extent of cardiac compromise. She deteriorated during hospital admission and suffered fatal cardiac arrest. Clinically, earlier recognition of bipolar affective disorder (potentially present from 1989) and appropriate medication might have ameliorated her course. The deceased's aggressive behaviour and refusal of examination significantly impeded cardiovascular assessment. The coroner found her immediate care adequate but noted earlier psychiatric diagnosis could have changed her trajectory.

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