An autopsy case of aortitis resulting in sudden death due to a rupture of aneurysm of the aortic sinus

Rupture of huge thoracic aortic aneurysm in a young man: Case report and literature review

Thoracic aortic aneurysms are considered more dangerous than abdominal aneurysms because they are often silent until rupture and, therefore, are more challenging to diagnose and have a high mortality rate. In addition, a thoracic aneurysm differs from an abdominal one in terms of causes and risk factors: the former is associated with the degeneration of the vessel's middle tunica, while the latter is related to atherosclerosis. We report the case of the sudden death of a 20-year-old man, with no apparent risk factors and suffering only from a persistent cough for a month, in whom the autopsy revealed the rupture of a massive aneurysm of the ascending thoracic aorta. Blood leaked from the wall of the aorta into the pericardial sac, causing cardiac tamponade and the death of the young man. Histology demonstrated cystic medial degeneration with no other relevant features. In this paper we discuss the mechanisms of aneurysm formation and report a review of the literature on similar cases, limited to ruptures of thoracic aortic aneurysms discovered post-mortem.

Sudden Death Caused by Rupture of Spontaneous Ductus Arteriosus Aneurysm in an Adult

A 55-year-old man complained of sudden onset of severe neck pain. This was followed by prompt loss of consciousness and death. Autopsy revealed rupture of a saccular aneurysm, which was considered to have resulted from enlargement of the remaining ductal tissue, and was located on the medial aspect of the uppermost portion of the descending aorta. Dense blood extravasation was noted in the posterior mediastinum and extending to the strap muscles of the neck and larynx. Histological examination of the rupture site revealed disappearance of the medial elastic fibers and thickened intima covered with dense fibrous tissue. Spontaneous ductus arteriosus aneurysm in adults is a rare finding, but widespread use of imaging technologies has revealed that it develops more frequently than previously recognized. Fatal complications may occur even when the aneurysm is relatively small. Therefore, pathologists should be aware of this aneurysm as a potential cause of sudden death.

Effects of stent-graft geometry and blood hematocrit on hemodynamic in Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm

CFD technique was used to determine the effect of a stent-graft spatial configuration and hematocrit value on blood flow hemodynamic and the risk of a stent-graft occlusion. Spatial configurations of an endovascular prosthesis placed in Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) for numerical simulations were developed on the basis of AngioCT data for 10 patients. The results of calculations showed that narrows or angular bends in the prosthesis as well as increased hematocrit affects blood flow reducing velocity and WSS which might result in thrombus development.