Rupture of an ascending aortic aneurysm as a cause of sudden death.
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.
Anatomic Pathology Department - Faculdade de Medicina - Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo/SP - Brazil .
Cristielle Peres
CP
de Freitas
Emergency Department - Hospital das Clínicas - Faculdade de Medicina - Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo/SP - Brazil .
Carla Andrade
CA
Petrini
Emergency Department - Hospital das Clínicas - Faculdade de Medicina - Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo/SP - Brazil .
Ramon Souza Goes
RS
Araújo
Anatomic Pathology Department - Instituto do Câncer do Estado de São Paulo - Faculdade de Medicina - Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo/SP - Brazil .
Luiz Guilherme Cernaglia Aureliano
LG
Lima
Anatomic Pathology Department - Faculdade de Medicina - Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo/SP - Brazil .
Patrícia
P
Picciarelli de Lima
Anatomic Pathology Department - Faculdade de Medicina - Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo/SP - Brazil.; Emergency Department - Hospital das Clínicas - Faculdade de Medicina - Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo/SP - Brazil.
Amaro Nunes
AN
Duarte-Neto
Aortic Aneurysm; Atherosclerosis; Death, Sudden