title: Incidence of coronary thrombosis in sudden death due to coronary artery disease.
abstract: Acute coronary thrombosis does not play a major role in the causation of sudden unexpected death due to coronary artery disease. In a study of 500 consecutive autopsies of individuals aged 20-99 years, dying suddenly and unexpectedly of coronary artery disease, only 67 (13.4%) showed an acute thrombosis. In contrast, studies of hospitalized patients with acute transmural infarction of the myocardium showed a rate of coronary artery occlusion > 80%.
authors.affiliation: Bexar County Forensic Science Center, San Antonio, TX 78229.
authors.forename: V J
authors.initials: VJ
authors.lastname: Di Maio
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Di Maio
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000150:complications* / Q000401:mortality; D003328:Coronary Thrombosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000473:pathology; D016757:Death, Sudden, Cardiac / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies