Pathology of heart, coronaries and aorta in autopsy cases with history of sudden death: an original article

Abstract

Background: Natural deaths represent a large proportion of sudden (unexpected and unattended) deaths. The term “sudden cardiac death” (SCD) refers to death from the abrupt cessation of cardiac function due to cardiac arrest. The objective of this study was to identify various causes, risk factors, age and sex distribution associated with sudden cardiac death in an Indian setting.Methods: Detail review of medical records and an autopsy study of all cases of sudden cardiac death that occurred instantaneously or within 24 hours of onset of symptoms in a tertiary care institution, between December 2010 and December 2015 was carried out.Results: In total, 124 cases of sudden death were studied during this period. Out of 124 cases, 109 cases (87.90%) showed pathology in heart and aorta. Atherosclerotic coronary heart disease was the most common cause of death (72.58%) followed by Hypertensive heart disease (4.83%), Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (3.22%), Myocarditis (3.22%), Infective endocarditis (1.61%), Rheumatic heart disease (0.8%), Aortic dissection (0.8%), and syphilitic aortitis (0.8%).Conclusions: Sudden death is a source of concern and a detailed postmortem examination is mandatory to ascertain its cause. Presence of co-existing conditions like diabetes and hypertension contribute immensely to the risk of sudden death. Occurrence of sudden death at a younger age presents a formidable challenge. Prevention of development of risk factors of atherosclerosis at an early age can be an effective strategy to counter this ailment at all levels.

Histomorphological study of heart diseases at rural tertiary hospital: An autopsy study

“…Present study Sonawane et al [4] Garg et al [8] Marwah et al [9] Ahmad et al [ In our study, only 1 case of left atrial myxoma (0.5%) was observed. Cardiac myxoma is a neoplasm of the heart with an estimated incidence of 0.5 per million [12] .…”

“…Reduced mortality from infectious diseases and the adoption of Western lifestyles has led to increased prevalence of ischemic heart disease in developing nations. More than 80% of cardiovascular deaths are associated with coronary atherosclerosis [4] . Myocarditis is also a recognised cause of sudden unexpected death in both children and adults [5] .…”

Correlation between ischemic heart disease and coronary atherosclerosis: an autopsy based cross-sectional study in a tertiary care hospital

“…15 We observed an overall prevalence of coronary atherosclerosis as 60.71%. [18][19][20][21]23 Isolated involvement of LVW and apex in our study was reported in 44.80% and 17.2% cases respectively. Diffuse pattern of involvement was seen in 10.37% cases only.…”

Study of the Histopathological Changes in the Heart in Postmortem/Autopsy Cases in Tertiary Care Center

“…In the current study, most cases (56%) showed changes in acute or recent infarction. This finding contrasts with the results of previous studies by Garg et al .,[ 7 ] Chaudhari et al .,[ 8 ] and Sonawane et al .,[ 9 ] which reported that old or healed infarction was more common, with prevalence rates of 88.5%, 69.2%, and 22.58%, respectively [ Tables 5 and 6 ].…”