Nurses all over the internet think Jack's death on 'This Is Us' could have been avoided

Kerry Justich
·Health and Wellness Staff Writer

Sunday night’s episode of This Is Us finally revealed the reason behind Jack Pearson’s death. Although there’s no question that it was devastating, some fans aren’t so sure about the medical accuracy of what happened, and are even saying that Jack could have very easily been saved.

The cause of death of Milo Ventimiglia’s character, Jack Pearson, was revealed on Sunday’s episode of <em>This Is Us</em>. (Photo by: Ron Batzdorff/NBC)
The cause of death of Milo Ventimiglia’s character, Jack Pearson, was revealed on Sunday’s episode of This Is Us. (Photo by: Ron Batzdorff/NBC)

Following numerous episodes that hinted at a destructive house fire caused by a faulty Crock-Pot, audiences were given the full story of Pearson family’s heartbreaking loss. Although Rebecca, played by Mandy Moore, revealed the ultimate cause of death to be a deadly “widowmaker” heart attack as a result of smoke inhalation, some fans are pretty mad about it. In fact, a lot of people are saying that a simple, standard procedure could have saved the beloved character’s life.

All across Twitter, nurses are coming forward to explain that Jack needed to be intubated and that he just wasn’t. It seemed obvious to medical professionals watching that the hospital needed to tend to much more than Jack’s visible scars. Nurses suggest that the show’s medical staff should have addressed his oxygen levels after they realized that his burns were caused by smoke inhalation.

Once Jack went into cardiac arrest, people believe that the hospital staff in the show let him go too soon.

According to Dr. Richard Katz, director of the George Washington University Heart and Vascular Institute, who discussed what a widowmaker heart attack is with Time magazine, smoke inhalation isn’t necessarily related. The sudden instance of this particular type of cardiac arrest is instead related to a build up of plaque blocking the left anterior descending artery. If Jack were to have had a pre-existing condition, the stress of the fire would be enough to lead him into a widowmaker heart attack.

But as per the information provided in the episode, the Pearson patriarch had no known history of cardiovascular problems. For the sake of television, it’s likely that the definition of a widowmaker was made broader — for dramatic effect. Regardless, it will take a long time for fans to accept the loss.

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