Unutterable grief and sorrow have been caused by the death of Lena Samaras, the 34-year-old daughter of former prime minister Antonis Samaras. The young woman passed away suddenly on Thursday night at Evangelismos Hospital from cardiac arrest. An epileptic episode had preceded it, and events unfolded very quickly. Lena Samaras had a clean medical history, and her case is considered exceptionally rare.
According to the official statement from the Ministry of Health, her condition deteriorated rapidly after her transfer to the Neurology Clinic of the hospital—despite a complete clinical, laboratory, and imaging examination at Sismanoglio by a neurologist, pathologist, cardiologist, and ophthalmologist—and the superhuman efforts of doctors and nurses were not enough to keep her alive.
Earlier, on Thursday afternoon, Lena had felt severe discomfort and dizziness. She was initially taken to Sismanoglio, the closest hospital to the Samaras family home in Kifissia, where the former prime minister trusted the medical staff.
There, she underwent detailed biochemical tests and a CT scan, with doctors finding nothing alarming. However, her persistent dizziness prompted them to refer her to Evangelismos, which was on duty, for further tests.
According to reports, she arrived at the hospital in good condition and fully responsive. During her examination by neurologists and pathologists, while providing her medical history, the 34-year-old is said to have experienced epileptic seizures. It was the first such episode in her life, as her medical history was entirely clear.
The rapid deterioration
Her health then took another dramatic turn: she went into cardiac asystole, meaning her heart stopped beating, as recorded by the doctors. For patients with coronary artery disease, severe heart failure, valvular disease, cardiomyopathy, or other serious heart conditions, cardiac arrest can unfortunately occur despite treatment.
For someone without any known heart or other health problems—as appeared to be the case for Lena Samaras based on the information she had given to doctors in both hospitals—cardiac arrest came without warning, suddenly and unexpectedly. It was the first and, tragically, the last symptom for the young woman.
Doctors attempted cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for an hour, but they could not reverse the fatal outcome. The 34-year-old daughter of Antonis Samaras had passed away.
The moment her parents were informed—after three agonizing hours of intubation, cardiac arrest, and CPR—was devastating. Exhausted by anxiety, they heard the doctors explain that despite everyone’s tireless efforts at Evangelismos, their daughter did not survive. The former prime minister left in silence, shattered. His wife, Georgia, asked to stay by her daughter’s side for a while.
Official announcement from the Ministry of Health regarding Lena Samaras’ death
The 1st Regional Health Authority of Attica issued a statement describing the steps taken by Sismanoglio and Evangelismos Hospitals from the time Lena was admitted on Thursday afternoon until her death that night.
According to the statement:
“The patient E.S. was transported by ambulance on 7/8 at approximately 13:00 to the Emergency Department of G.N.A. Sismanoglio during the morning shift, where she was examined by a team of doctors (neurologist, pathologist, cardiologist, ophthalmologist) and underwent a full neurological, pathological, cardiological, and ophthalmological evaluation.
After completing the full clinical, laboratory, and imaging workup, it was deemed necessary to transfer her to a neurology clinic.
The patient was transported in stable condition by ambulance with a doctor accompanying her to G.N.A. Evangelismos and admitted to the hospital’s Neurology Clinic for further investigation and treatment.
During the course of investigating her condition, the patient experienced a rapid deterioration, and despite the superhuman efforts of the hospital’s medical and nursing staff, she passed away on 07/08 at 22:29.”
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