Abstract

RICO, A. et al. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy presenting as sudden death in a young woman. Cuad. med. forense [online]. 2007, n.47, pp.57-63. ISSN 1988-611X.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a genetic and very heterogeneous disease with multiple loci, and with several mutations identified for every gene. In USA, it is regarded as the most common cause of sudden death (SD) in young people (mainly athletes), and occasionally SD is the initial presentation of the disease. HCM is morphologically characterized by an asymmetric hypertrophy of left and/or right ventricle with a histopathological pattern of cardiac myocytes dearrangement in a prominent connective tissue matrix, as well as intimal hypertrophy of intramural coronary arteries. In this paper, we present the case of a 25 year-old woman, clinically diagnosed with HCM, and with family history of HCM in her mother, who experienced a SD while sleeping.

Keywords : Hypertrophic cardyomyopathy; sudden death; autopsy; forensic pathology.

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