title: Sudden death associated with myxomatous transformation of the mitral valve in an 8-year-old boy.
abstract: An 8-year-old boy suffered a cardiac arrest while playing soccer. In contrast to a similar event at the age of 5 years, resuscitation was not successful. At autopsy, the cardiac findings were of a myxomatous transformation of the mitral valve with lacerations of the posterior cusp and the left vestibular endocardium and left ventricular hypertrophy. Sudden death due to arrhythmias in association with a myxomatous mitral valve is a rare event with only about 100 cases published world-wide. To our knowledge, the present case probably reports the youngest affected individual who died of this pathological condition.
authors.affiliation: Department of Legal Medicine, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany.
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Ronneberger
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hausmann
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Betz
mesh_terms: D001145:Arrhythmias, Cardiac / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*; D001344:Autopsy / Q000379:methods*; D002648:Child; D016757:Death, Sudden, Cardiac / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*; D006349:Heart Valve Diseases / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D017379:Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008943:Mitral Valve / Q000473:pathology*; D008945:Mitral Valve Prolapse / Q000473:pathology