List the cause of sudden unexpected death.

Cause of sudden unexpected death

1. Cardiac causes
(a) Coronary insufficiency
(b) Hypertensive heart disease
(c) Valvular heart diseases
(d) Congenital heart disease
(e) Cardiomyopathies
(f) Cardiac tamponade
(g) Pulmonary thrombo-embolism

2. Respiratory causes
(a) Acute infection – bronchopneumonia, lobar pneumonia, viral haemorrhagic
pneumonitis,
(b) Pulmonary embolism with or without infarction, originating from silent venous
thrombus
(c) Acute severe asthma
(d) Pneumothorax
(e) Chronic lesion – TB, Ca lungs, lungs abscess,
(f) Sudden airway obstruction – laryngeal edema from infection, hemorrhage from
TB or tumour,
(g) Cor pulmonale

3. Disease of the CNS

(a) SAH due to rupture of Berry aneurysm
(b) Sponta. ICH asso. with atherosclerosis & H/T
(c) Pontine haemorrhage
(d) Cerebellar haemorrhage
(e) Haemorrhage in a brain tumour or abscess
(f) Meningitis
(g) Meningococaemia
(h) Acute encephalitis
(i) Cerebral artery thrombosis or embolism
(j) Carotid artery thrombosis
(k) Status epilepticus
4. Diseases of G. I. T.
(a) PU, DU, GU bleeding, haemorrhage and shock
(b) Rupture of viscera, strangulated hernia
(c) Mesenteric thrombosis with infraction of bowel
(d) Acute pancreatitis (sometimes haemorrhagic)
(e) Severe fatty metamorphosis of liver
(f) Spontaneous rupture of spleen in malaria
(g) Haemorrhage from oesophageal varices (COL)
(h) Acute peritonitis due to rupture of viscera PU, DU, GU perforation
(i) Intestinal obstruction
5. Diseases of urogenital system
(a) Rupture of ectopic pregnancy
(b) Uremia with chronic renal disease
6. Miscellaneous
(a) Diabetes mellitus – hypoglycaemia, diabetic coma
(b) Sickle cell anemia
(c) Addison's disease
(d) Hyperthyroidism
(e) Blood dyscrasia

Describe sudden death from cardiac causes.

Sudden death from cardiac disease

Ischemic heart disease is the most common cause of sudden death in Western nations. The term
is employed rather loosely and inaccurately, often being used as if it was synonymous with
'coronary atherosclerosis'. Certainly the latter is the largest contributor to ischemic heart disease,
but not to the exclusion of other conditions.
As a further complication of nomenclature, 'coronary atherosclerosis' or 'coronary atheroma' is
the proper title of the common degenerative disease that causes most deaths, but the term
'coronary artery disease' is so ingrained into popular usage that it is accepted as synonymous with
coronary atherosclerosis, even though there are other coronary diseases.
Ischemic heart disease comprises:
1. Coronary atherosclerosis
2. Hypertensive heart disease
3. Aortic valve disease
4. Anomalies of the coronary circulation
5. Other coronary artery disease, such as polyarteritis
6. Cardiomyopathic enlargement
7. Some congenital heart diseases