Brain Injuries Can Cause Heart Problems

The sad, high-profile case of a former college lacrosse player in her 20s allegedly murdered in Maryland has brought brain injuries into a new light.

The prosecution says the woman died of a heart abnormality following a traumatic brain injury inflicted by the defendant, per the Washington Post.

Dr. Michael Gormley said the autopsy he performed on Yeardley Love and other doctors’ examinations of her brain led him to conclude that she died from cardiac arrhythmia, or an irregular heartbeat, caused by blunt force trauma that injured her brain, disrupting the flow of blood to her heart.

Click on through to read the whole story, including excerpts of testimony from a neuropathologist.

The whole case illustrates the extraordinary complexity of brain injuries.