Serena Liu

Liu suffered from a narrowed aortic valve.[9] Her husband told the media that she had learnt about her condition purely by chance. Liu had taken her four-year-old daughter to see a doctor for a cold, but the young girl refused to let the doctor place a stethoscope on her chest. The doctor then demonstrated the stethoscope's use to the child by placing the device on Liu's chest. The doctor realised then that Liu had a heart murmur, and advised her to seek further treatment.[10] Liu could have opted for an aortic valve replacement, but it would have required long-term medication after the surgery to prevent blood clots.[9] The medication may also derail her plans to have a second child.[9] On 7 February 2020,[3] while undergoing a heart valve repair surgery at Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Liu had an unexpected sudden cardiac arrest and fell into a coma.[9] Liu was then admitted to the intensive care unit and had been put on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation since then.[9] Despite subsequent operations to deal with a developing cerebral embolism and increased brain pressure, Liu died on 22 March 2020 at the age of 44 after her body had stopped responding to medication and treatment.[3][11]