Rupture of an ascending aortic aneurysm as a cause of sudden death

An 84-year-old female patient was brought to the emergency department in cardiac arrest. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation maneuvers were performed but were unsuccessful. The patient had a past medical history of systemic arterial hypertension with target-organ lesions, including stroke and myocardial i...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Cristielle Peres de Freitas, Carla Andrade Petrini, Ramon Souza Goes Araújo, Luiz Guilherme Cernaglia Aureliano Lima, Patrícia Picciarelli de Lima, Amaro Nunes Duarte-Neto
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of São Paulo 2016-09-01
Series:Autopsy and Case Reports
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Online Access:http://www.revistas.usp.br/autopsy/article/view/125419
Description
Summary:An 84-year-old female patient was brought to the emergency department in cardiac arrest. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation maneuvers were performed but were unsuccessful. The patient had a past medical history of systemic arterial hypertension with target-organ lesions, including stroke and myocardial infarction. The autopsy was carried out, and the most striking finding was cardiac tamponade due to the rupture of an ascending aortic aneurysm at the site of a complex atheromatous plaque. Rupture is the most serious complication of a thoracic aneurysm and must be considered in the differential diagnosis of sudden death
ISSN:2236-1960