Autopsy findings in sudden cardiac death victims at a tertiary health care centre

Abstract

In the present era there is a transition of the cause of death from communicable to non-communicable diseases (NCD) due to  changing life style as well as environmental factors. Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is one of the most common NCD and an important  mode of death all over the world. Hence, the accurate diagnosis of the causes of SCD is now of particular importance. Pathologists are  solely responsible for determining the precise cause and mechanism of sudden death through autopsy. In present study we included  260 cases with age ranging from 1 to 80 years. 75 (28.8%) of these 260 cases showed cardiovascular lesions with a male: female ratio  of 14:1. Coronary artery disease with or without other associated lesions was the most frequent finding (90.7%). Other causes  included atherosclerosis of aorta, myocardial infarction (MI), myocarditis and cardiomyopathy. Rare findings were left atrial myxoma  and malignant mesothelioma. Though predominantly affected age group was 41-50 years, there was significant number of affected  young patients as well. Thus, this study highlights the importance of screening the population from young age itself for cardiovascular  diseases to reduce related morbidity and mortality.