Cathy MacGuinnes died in the hospital on Saturday, April 25, having suffered a cardiac arrest three weeks prior
Credit: GoFundMe
NEED TO KNOW
- Cathy MacGuinness suffered a cardiac arrest two weeks after the birth of her third daughter
- On Saturday, April 25, Cathy died in the hospital despite life-saving measures in the three weeks since the medical emergency
- She is survived by her husband and their three daughters, aged 7, 3, and 5-weeks-old
An Australian mother of three has died from an undiagnosed heart condition just weeks after she gave birth to her third child.
Cathy MacGuinness was placed in an induced coma at Sydney's Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, having suffered a cardiac arrest at her home on Easter Sunday, 7 News and News.com.au reported. The medical emergency came just two weeks after the birth of her third daughter, Goldie.
On Saturday, April 25, Cathy died despite life-saving measures as a lack of oxygen had caused severe brain damage, per 7 News. She is survived by her husband, Sebastian Fletcher, and their three daughters, aged 7, 3, and 5-weeks-old.
Her sister-in-law, Gillian Binchy-MacGuinness, told the news outlets that Cathy had an undiagnosed heart condition known as dilated cardiomyopathy.
Credit: GoFundMe
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According to Medical News Today, the condition “impairs the heart's ability to pump blood efficiently and meet the body's demands,” eventually resulting in heart failure or other complications. Symptoms can include breathlessness, fatigue, swelling in the legs, dizziness, and chest pain.
Binchy-MacGuinness told News.com.au that “Cathy seemed to be the picture of health to all of us” before her death.
“If she had been diagnosed and on the right medication, none of this would have happened,” Cathy's sisters-in-law, Binchy-MacGuinness and Alison Scotland, told 7 News.
“It's so easy to dismiss yourself or just be like, ‘oh, I'm just tired'. Or, ‘yeah, I've been on my feet all day, that's why my legs are swollen,' and not to give it a second thought because, as a mother, you put everybody else in front of yourself,” they continued.
“Don't dismiss even the smallest symptoms… go and see your doctor,” Binchy-MacGuinness and Scotland added.
They described the three weeks between Cathy's cardiac arrest and death as a “rollercoaster,” having remained hopeful that she would recover.
“Those weeks were horrible, but we really don't want that to be the focus,” the sisters-in-law told 7 News.
Cathy's friend Joanna Allen has raised over $90,000 since setting up a GoFundMe page to support the late mother of three's family.
Allen told 7 News that Cathy had a successful career at aircraft company Alauda, following jobs at Microsoft and Commonwealth Bank.
“Cathy is one of those rare people. You know you've been lucky to ever meet someone like her,” Allen wrote in the fundraiser's description. “… She lights up any room she walks into — magic in human form. She had this rare and extraordinary ability to really see you — to look at you and make you feel truly known, exactly as you are.”
Allen added, “Seb and her girls were her entire world, her greatest love, her proudest achievement, her reason for everything. And beyond that, her love stretched wide and deep — to her mum and dad, her brothers and sister and all of their families. She didn't just love them, she cherished every single moment with them.”
Credit: GoFundMe
Allen expressed in the fundraiser's description that the medical team did “everything” they could to help Cathy after the cardiac arrest at her Sydney home.
“On the evening of 25 April 2026, our Cathy peacefully passed away surrounded and being held by her family, in a private and very colorful room decorated from the floor to the ceiling with art, photographs, messages and origami from everyone who loves her,” she wrote, before listing the loved ones left behind.
She explained that the funds raised will support Fletcher as he covers the cost of being a single parent to their three daughters.
“If you're able to contribute, no matter the amount, it will help ease the financial burden during an already heartbreaking time,” Allen wrote. “If you can't donate, please consider sharing this page and sharing Cathy's story.”
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