Sabina Loving owns Loving Tax Services, Inc., a new tax preparation service in an impoverished neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago where there is high unemployment and many homes and businesses are boarded up.
Unpredictable ruptures of arteries and organs are the most serious complications of the Vascular Type of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. A torn artery can cause internal bleeding, stroke, or shock, and is the most common cause of death in patients with this disorder. Rupture of the intestine is seen in 25 to 30 percent of affected individuals and tearing of the uterus (womb) during pregnancy affects 2 to 3 percent of women.
Other cardiac abnormalities that can cause sudden death are heart valve abnormalities, electrical conduction abnormalities of the heart, and rupture of the aorta (the large blood vessel that carries the blood from the heart to the body). Another cause of sudden death among athletes is Marfan syndrome (Fig. 2).