Cardiac arrest due to ventricular fibrillation in a 23-year-old woman with broken heart syndrome.

Broken heart syndrome, also known as takotsubo cardiomyopathy, is a syndrome characterized by a transient regional systolic dysfunction of the left ventricle associated to a psychological stress. We herein describe a case of a 23-year-old female habitual marijuana user who was resuscitated after cardiac arrest and then diagnosed with midventricular stress cardiomyopathy complicated by subendocardial hemorrhage. We discuss this unique pathological finding, the incidence of arrhythmias in this syndrome, and the possible relation with chronic cannabis and tobacco use. Unfortunately, the patient did not survive, but had she survived, the management of the patient for secondary prevention would have been challenging considering the risk of recurrence with this disease.

Paleopathology of cardiovascular diseases in South American mummies.

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular disease has emerged as the world's leading cause of death in the last century. An epidemiological focus of this disease that extends not only beyond the developed world but also far back into antiquity asks new questions about associated risk factors. Ancient mummies found in the Atacama desert are well preserved and show signs of cardiovascular disease as early as 1000B.C. in Peru and Chile. METHOD AND RESULTS: Gross and histopathological examination of specimens shows atherosclerosis, cardiomegaly, endocarditis, and myocardial fibrosis. CONCLUSION: In comparison to other ancient populations, less atherosclerosis has been noted in South American mummies. The chewing of coca leaves, a habitual cultural practice unique to the region, supports evidence of reduced cardiovascular risk among ancient people living in South America.

Paleopathology of Spleens in South American Mummies.

This study analyzed 19 naturally mummified pre-Columbian individuals excavated from desert regions of southern Peru and northern Chile. In the majority of autopsies of mummies, the spleen cannot be identified due to rapid autolysis and decomposition; therefore, our aim was to identify, in the cases in which the spleen was found, any normal and abnormal structures from mummified spleen tissues. The research consisted of gross and microscopic examinations of the spleen. Pathological features were identified, but no evidence of specific diseases was determined.

Paleopathology in South American mummies: a review and new findings.

This article is a review of research and additional unpublished diseases that have been discovered and documented in naturally mummified remains recovered from South America. A new impetus in paleopathological studies was the work and discovery of a solution for rehydration of mummified tissues by Sir Marc Armand Ruffer in 1913. This solution allows the paleopathologist, after performing the autopsy, to process the tissues in a manner similar to current practices in pathology. In our studies, the most common diseases were infectious in nature, similar to the diseases that are most prominent today in the same regions.

Tuberculosis in Pre-Columbian Andean populations

It reports a study of tuberculosis in cultural groups of the pre-Columbian Andean populations of Peru and northern Chile.(AU)