Autopsy and Case Reports
https://www.autopsyandcasereports.org/article/doi/10.4322/acr.2016.044
Autopsy and Case Reports
Article / Autopsy Case Report

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

Cristielle Peres de Freitas, Carla Andrade Petrini, Ramon Souza Goes Araújo, Luiz Guilherme Cernaglia Aureliano Lima, Patrícia Picciarelli de Lima, Amaro Nunes Duarte-Neto

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Abstract

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.

Keywords

Aortic Aneurysm, Death, Sudden, Atherosclerosis

References

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Publication date:
09/29/2016

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