Edward Burr, 32, started to feel ill the day after his wedding in early 2024, and quickly developed pneumonia
When he was hospitalized, his wife, Laura Burr, said doctors found that the pneumonia had worsened an undiagnosed heart problem
Edward died last October while waiting for a heart to become available for a transplant. Laura said, “I was a bride and a wife at 30, I’m now a widow at 31”
A newlywed said her husband “deteriorated” after developing pneumonia — which worsened a then-undiagnosed heart condition that turned out to be fatal.
Edward Burr, 32, started to feel ill the day after his wedding in early 2024. His widow, Laura Burr, said they chalked his symptoms up to catching a bug at their crowded ceremony. But it quickly “escalated” into pneumonia, she said, according to The Daily Mail.
Edward was soon hospitalized, where it was discovered that his heart was behaving “abnormally,” Laura said. While he was being transported to another hospital for care, doctors discovered that Edward was in active heart failure.
Edward was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy, a heart condition in which the heart chambers can no longer contract after becoming enlarged, according to John Hopkins Medicine. The heart is unable to efficiently pump blood under the condition, leading to fluid buildup in the lungs and eventual heart failure.
Olga Byrne Photography
Laura and Edward Burr on their wedding day
“The pneumonia tipped his body over and he couldn’t deal with the heart problem we didn’t know he had,” Laura said, explaining that her husband’s health “deteriorated.”
On July 19, Edward had open heart surgery where a pump was implanted to help his heart until he could have a transplant. But when a suitable heart wasn’t immediately available, Edward died in October 2024 of multiple organ failure.
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Laura is now calling for earlier routine testing, saying that if Edward’s condition had been discovered, he could still be alive today.
“I was a bride and a wife at 30, I’m now a widow at 31,” Laura said. “Those words should never come out of somebody’s mouth … Grief and losing someone is part of life, but not at this age.”
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