Edinburgh woman lost husband to undiagnosed heart disease six months after wedding

A woman from Edinburgh has told how she lost her husband to undiagnosed coronary heart disease just six months after they were married.

Ahead of World Heart Day on Monday, Catherine Murray said the loss of her husband, Iain, when he was 32 was devastating but she now wants to spread awareness of heart disease.

The 34-year-old recently took part in the 21-mile Edinburgh Kiltwalk to raise money for the British Heart Foundation (BHF).

Catherine and Iain Murray had been together for 14 years, since they were teenagers, but only married six months before he died in May 2023.

They had been due to honeymoon in Portugal the week after his death.

She recalled how she found her husband unresponsive on the sofa when she returned home from work as a medical receptionist.

She said: “I started screaming, but I knew he was gone.

“I called an ambulance and I did CPR for about six minutes, although it felt like much longer, then paramedics arrived and worked on him for about 45 minutes, but there was nothing.”

Mrs Murray moved in with her late husband’s parents, Sharon and Fraser, as they sought to help each other through their grief.

She added: “We’re not a family that hides the fact that we are grieving, we wear it, and we own it.

“We cry, we talk, we are open and honest. If someone is having a bad day, we all rally round that person.”

She undertook the 21-mile Kiltwalk in Edinburgh to raise money for BHF research, as well as for her own health.

Mrs Murray said: “I was drinking too much, eating too much, and then I realised I also don’t want to die young.

“So, I’m trying my best to look after myself.

“The bad days are less often now. It is still devastating and when I do think about it too much it physically hurts, but those days are getting less.

“I looked at the BHF and read about the work the charity does – we couldn’t save Iain, but we can maybe spread awareness about heart health and help other people to have better lives.”

According to BHF research, someone dies from cardiovascular disease in the UK every three minutes.

David McColgan, head of BHF Scotland, said: “The sad reality is that each week, around 350 families in Scotland will lose a loved one to cardiovascular conditions like a heart attack and stroke.

“We have seen record high numbers affected by heart diseases and cardiovascular risk factors in Scotland since the start of the decade, and cardiovascular deaths in 2023 were at their highest since 2008.

“We are determined to give people more time with their loved ones by powering an era of immense scientific opportunity to give people healthier hearts, for longer.”