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Twin souls, Brothers, and Muses

In the cinema there are many examples of sudden cardiac death, from classic films such as “Doctor Zivago” and “The Godfather,” to the recent “A Single Man.” However, there is one cult movie, which despite being enigmatic in many ways, lends itself extraordinarily well to the teaching of cardiology, even though its artistic value lies more in aesthetic, philosophical, and spiritual themes. A film that I always mention during discussions about sudden death, “The Double Life of Veronica” tells of two young women, one in France and the other in Poland (both roles played by the same actress), who live parallel lives, unaware of one another like two unconscious twin souls. Born on the same day in 1966, both were orphaned on the death of their mothers, both were left-handed, both musically talented, and both have the same heart condition. The Polish Weronika dies suddenly during a concert, 27 minutes into the film (the same time that it takes the protagonist of “Psycho” to die her violent death), while singing the second Canto of Dante’s Paradiso. Earlier in the film, there are two scenes that help make clear the cause of her sudden demise: first, we see the woman having chest pains and dyspnea while walking in the street; later we see Weronika is speaking with her aunt, who is waiting for the lawyer who is to draw up her will, “because in our family, we don’t get old. We just die without getting ill. That’s how your mother died.” After the tragic end of the Polish “Weronika,” the film continues with the French “Veronique,” who abandons the canto (unconsciously aware of its dangers) and gets some cardiovascular tests done; in one scene, she is shown holding an electrocardiogram that shows a wide complex tachycardia.