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Summary
This case presents a woman in her early 20s who died after the sudden onset of chest pain. Five years earlier, she was investigated for a cardiac murmur during pregnancy and an echocardiogram revealed a 6.0×3.0 cm blood-filled sac compressing the left atrium and anterolateral aspect of the left ventricle with communication to the aortic root. She later had a CT scan of the chest with contrast, which showed aneurysmal dilatation of the left main coronary artery. She was placed on aspirin but defaulted from clinic 11 months post partum. At autopsy, a left coronary aneurysmal sac measuring 10.0×9.0 cm. was identified with a rupture measuring 7.0 cm in length and the pericardial sac contained 900 mL of blood with clots. The cause of death was cardiac tamponade secondary to rupture of the coronary artery aneurysm.
- pathology
- heart failure
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Footnotes
AB and WM contributed equally.
Contributors AB was responsible for performing the autopsy, interpreting and reporting on the findings and preparing the final autopsy report; authored the draft of the case report and made necessary amendments. WM was the supervising pathologist at the autopsy who examined and confirmed the findings and determined the cause of death; assisted in the writing of the case report and suggested amendments to the case report, approving the final draft.
Funding This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.
Competing interests None declared.
Patient consent Detail has been removed from this case description/these case descriptions to ensure anonymity. The editors and reviewers have seen the detailed information available and are satisfied that the information backs up the case the authors are making.
Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.