U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

"Grown-Up" Congenital Heart Disease and Sudden Death in a Medical Examiner's Population

NCJ Number
236192
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 56 Issue: 5 Dated: September 2011 Pages: 1206-1212
Author(s)
Leslie E. Hamilton, M.D.; Emma O. Lew, M.D.; Evan W. Matshes, M.D., F.R.C.P.C.
Date Published
September 2011
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This retrospective descriptive study outlines the spectrum of congenital heart disease (CHD) presenting as sudden death in adults in a medical examiner's population.
Abstract
Despite advances in the management of congenital heart disease (CHD), children with CHD who survive into adulthood are at increased risk of sudden death. Sudden death may also be the initial presentation of undiagnosed CHD in some adults. Despite its rarity (0.2 percent of all cases investigated between 1991 and 2007), CHD remains an important cause of sudden cardiac death to be recognized at adult autopsy. Bicuspid aortic valve and anomalous coronary anomalies were the most common malformations, comprising 36.9 percent and 26.2 percent of cases, respectively. However, a wide spectrum of simple to complex malformations can be seen, with or without prior surgery, and over a wide age spectrum. Once solely a pediatric entity, CHD is now "grown-up" and will likely be diagnosed by forensic pathologists with increased frequency in the future. (Published Abstract)