An approach to sudden natural deaths in medicolegal autopsies at karamsad, Gujarat.

The Forensic autopsy is a medical procedure. Unfortunately, it is too often thought of only in reference to violent or unnatural deaths. The present prospective study was aimed to know the effectiveness of post-mortem examination to find out cause of death and its correlation with histopathological examination. It was also intended to deduce various epidemiological parameters and their logical relevance. Total 825 autopsy cases were performed during January 2007 to December 2009 (3 years), out of which 63 (7.64%) were of sudden natural deaths. Most of cases were found in 31-50 years age group and male preponderance was seen in all age groups. A majority of deceased were married. Cardiovascular diseases were the most important cause contributing 58.73% in sudden natural deaths. These cardiac cases were mainly due to coronary artery disease, coronary thrombosis and acute myocardial infarction. The 90.49% cases were brought dead to the hospital. In majority of cases (95.24%) postmortem was performed within 24 hours of death.

Enigma of sleep death

Sudden sleep death resulting from ventricular fibrillation [VF] may be triggered in some patients by behavioral and neural factors. Diverse neural traffic to the heart and augmented sympathetic drive lower the vulnerable period threshold for VF. Ventricular premature beats [VPBs] which may be risk indicators of susceptibility to sudden death, are triggered by different psychogenic factors, innocuous somatic afferents and disturbed body surface potential leading to varying electrical potentials converging back to the heart. Persistent assault of diverse biobehavioral influences -of synthetic garments would not only increase sympathetic drive through somatic afferents but would also disturb the electrical uniformity of the myocardium as it disturbs the skin potential and tigers VPBs of different grades including VF culminating in sudden death