Myocardial bridging as a possible cause of unexplained sudden death: A case report

Abstract

A 35-year-old man was found dead on the road by the police patrol. As the cause of his death was unknown, a forensic autopsy was performed in the morgue department. No traumatic change was detected on external or internal examination. Macroscopic investigation of the heart revealed a 2.2 cm extension of the left anterior descending coronary artery embedded in the myocardium 1 cm from its origin; a 1–1.2 cm superficial myocardial bridge overlying the left anterior descending coronary artery was detected. Histological examination of the heart revealed no evidence of acute or chronic ischemia, only mild hypertrophy was detected. We reported that myocardial bridging could be a cause of unexplained sudden death in the presented case.

Keywords

• sudden death
• coronary artery
• myocardial bridging
• forensic autopsy