Nancy Pairlee Yarbrough Tilley Brown was born 28 April 1877 and died 7 February 1968 in the state of Texas. While looking at her death certificate, specifically the cause of death and medical certification section, I came across something I had not seen before.The first part was self-explanatory: Section 18, Cause of Death - Part I - Death was caused by (immediate cause) Cancer of Bladder. Part II is where I saw something new to me: Under "Other Significant Conditions Contributing To Death But Not Related To The Terminal Disease Condition Given In Part I" was Arteriosclerosis. C. V. A. I remember from school that arteriosclerosis is hardening of arteries, but I had to search on C. V. A. It stands for "cerebrovascular accident" and means cousin Nancy had a stroke. From eMedicinal.com:
"Arteriosclerosis (build-up of calcium on the inside of artery walls) and atherosclerosis (deposits of fatty substances) have about the same effect on circulation. Either condition causes strokes, coronary disease (angina), and high blood pressure...Older people are at greater risk for this kind of heart trouble. When arteriosclerosis occludes the arterial supply of blood to the brain, a cerebrovascular accident (CVA), or stroke occurs."