Page 14 Daily Mail, Friday, August 23, 2019
A 93-year-old woman has
died from ‘broken heart
syndrome’ – ten weeks after
being burgled by thugs pos-
ing as police officers.
Betty Munroe had her ‘sense
of security robbed’, the pen-
sioner’s family said, after the
three men smashed through
the back door of her home of 56
years using garden shears
taken from her shed.
After breaking in at 11pm, the
intruders went up to her bedroom,
posing as police. The pensioner
then watched as they ransacked
her home – taking her purse, bank
cards, a gold chain from around
her neck and even her late hus-
band Frank’s watch.
Her son Michael, a senior Bap-
tist church minister, said yester-
day that his mother had been left
‘in shock’ after the burglary in
Northampton on June 11. Rev
Munroe, 54, of Guiseley, West
Yorkshire, said: ‘My mother was
an innocent, trusting and vulner-
able old lady and they preyed on
that. Her security wasn’t as good
as it perhaps should have been –
but it was the first time she had
suffered any sort of crime in all the
years she had lived in that house.’
Mrs Munroe was diagnosed
with post-traumatic stress disor-
der by her GP about a week aftersyndrome is a sudden and acute
form of heart failure, with symp-
toms such as chest pain, breath-
lessness or collapse which are
similar to a heart attack.
The heart muscle becomes sud-
denly weakened or ‘stunned’,
according to the British Heart
Foundation, and the left ventricle- one of the heart’s chambers –
changes shape. This affects the
heart’s ability to pump blood.
The condition was first identi-
fied in Japan in 1990 and the term
‘takotsubo’ is taken from the Jap-
anese name for an octopus pot,
which has a unique shape that the
left ventricle comes to resemble.
The BHF’s data suggests it could
represent six to seven per cent of
all presumed heart attack victims
admitted to cardiology depart-
ments. Most people recover but
about four per cent die from it.
Rev Munroe said of his mother,
who had three children, six grand-
children and five great-grandchil-
dren: ‘Her mental health affected
her physical health and that led to
the end of her life.’
He said that his father, a milk-
man, who died aged 90 four years
ago, served in the Navy during the
Second World War while his
mother was in the Land Army.
Rev Munroe added: ‘My parents
served their country well and were
proud to come from that genera-
tion.’ A family statement said: ‘The
violent actions of these callousindividuals robbed [Betty] not
only of precious possessions, but
of her sense of security and peace
and the will to go on. All the gen-
erations of our family who owe her
so much are bereft at her death.’
Yesterday, Northamptonshire
Police said that enquiries into the
burglary were ongoing.
Detective Inspector Simon
Barnes, of Northampton CID,
added: ‘This is one of the saddest
cases I have come across during
my career and a stark reminder of
how deeply a burglary can affect
a victim. Betty was in good health
before this incident but she dete-
riorated very quickly after it and
sadly died in her care home this
week, surrounded by her family.’By Andy Dolan‘Shaking and
nightmares’Left in shock:
Betty Munroe,
a great-grand-
mother, died
after a lengthy
stay in hospitalWidow, 93, dies
of broken heart
af ter burglars
ransack home
the burglary following repeated
nightmares, trouble sleeping,
being sick and being unable to
stop shaking.
A lengthy stay in hospital with
heart trouble followed and Mrs
Munroe was eventually diagnosed
with takotsubo syndrome – also
known as broken heart syndrome- and died this week. Takotsubo