Congestive heart failure - heard a crack during cpr my dad died in front of me, my mom and boyfriend nov. 6th, 2011. we lost him of congestive heart failure with no warning. he was coughing, throwing up and then got dizzy and sat down. he fell off of what

I : I am not sure why this question came to my inbox, as I am a vascular surgeon and not a cardiologist or cardiothoracic surgeon. However, i could tell you that it is likely that during CPR a rib broke, as it is a fairly common occurrence. Having had a heart bypass, it is not unusual also for a wire to break, as well. In a sense, you are right, as it could have been either. The sternum never heals after an open heart surgery, so technically it cannot be broken as it is not an intact bone anymore, but it would separate if a wire broke, so again in a sense, you are right with that as well.