What happens when you die of an aortic aneurysm?

An aneurism is a weak spot in a blood vessel. In the case of your grandmother, ( Please accept my sincerest sympathy on your loss), because of the location (the aorta is a major blood vessel), she would've been alive one second, gone the next. She did not suffer, death was instantaneous for her. I'm not a pathologist or anything, just someone with above average knowledge of medical things. (Medicine has long fascinated me.) if you'd like someone to talk to, I am here. May I also suggest that if you have a hospice in your area, you should seriously think about seeing them for bereavement counseling. They understand what happens to family members after a death, be it unexpected or expected. They can give you materials to help you cope better. I also suggest (sorry for all the suggestions, they just occur to me randomly, lol) that you look up Elisabeth Kübler-Ross' "Twelve Stages of Grief," and "On Death and Dying." *hug*!

This is a tough area of research - no one wants to volunteer. When your Gma's aortic burst, she bled to death as rapidly as someone can - because the aortic is our largest and primary artery. Couldn't say if she's still alive when she hits the floor, but she was very likely unconscious. The sudden drop in blood pressure would causes us to pass out. I'd guess she experienced very little - if any - pain or distress.

A person can bleed to death in minutes from severing one of the larger arteries in our neck or legs. The aortic is far larger, so the process is very quick. In my opinion, it would certainly beat most other methods of dying.

This feels kinda cold after writing it, but it seems like you're wondering more about the physical occurrence. Sorry about you losing your Gma. Peace.

depends, we can't tell you that. some say no pain other's dire pain.. then some say it's a lapse comatic stage dream like state.

but those who die from it can't tell us. those who survive it's 70/30 on what they claim is accurate as best to their knowledge.


most i know who had an aneurysm.. said it was HURT LIKE MUTHER F'ER! (in many cases the pain can last for weeks prior to the attack.)


i had a stroke back in '03 and that hurt like hell.


in most cases the aneurysm is a balloon vein which beings to spout leaks until the suspect artery bursts.

you feel sick before it happens in some case.. john ritter died from one. before his burst he was feeling tired and ill.

It seems to me that it would be like someone just switched off the light...gone. No pain. Just off. No one really has that info since they are dead. That is a better way to go than many other ways.

There is no way of knowing this. With the massive amount of internal bleeding I dont believe she would know, and it sounds like she was having a normal day. Maybe high blood pressure caused the rupture.

That's awful .. sorry for your loss

I am sorry for your loss and your pain.

Why did she not get the surgery?

I think they are hard to diagnose because they can't be seen on standard tests. My uncle's wife died of an aneurism at like 50.