Pulmonary embolism as a cause of death in patients with heart disease: an autopsy study.
OBJECTIVE
To establish the prevalence of pulmonary embolism (PE) in autopsy material at a tertiary cardiac referral center and its importance as a cause of death in patients with heart disease (HD).


METHODS
Case series.


METHODS
National Heart Institute, Mexico City.


METHODS
One thousand thirty-two patients who died at our institution from 1985 to 1994 in whom an autopsy study was performed.


RESULTS
Of the 1,032 autopsies reviewed, 231 cases (24.4%) of PE were found; 100 of these patients had a diagnosis of massive PE. Massive PE (obstruction of either of the main pulmonary arteries or more than two lobar arteries) was found to be the third cause of death in this HD population. By age-group distribution, the global prevalence of massive events was higher in patients < 10 years old. Clinical suspicion (premortem) was raised in only 18% of the cases.


CONCLUSIONS
PE was a frequent cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with HD who underwent autopsies. The incidence of massive PE was high in children.
Pulido
Tomás
T
Cardiopulmonary, Instituto Nacional de Cardiología Ignacio Chávez, México D.F., México.
Aranda
Alberto
A
Zevallos
Marco Antonio
MA
Bautista
Edgar
E
Martínez-Guerra
Maria Luisa
ML
Santos
Luis Efrén
LE
Sandoval
Julio
J