Study of the histopathological changes in the heart in postmortem/autopsy cases in tertiary care center

Abstract

Context: There has been a significant increase in global cardiac-related fatalities, particularly over the last five decades. In India, cardiovascular diseases have emerged as a prevalent condition. Moreover, the incidence of sudden cardiac death has shown a steady rise worldwide. Aims: The aim of this study was to research how frequently cardiac disease was found during postmortem/autopsy cases and how it affects sudden death. Materials and Methods: The research was conducted at the Department of Pathology, SRTR, GMC, Ambajogai, India. One hundred and eighty cardiac specimens were examined from October 2019 to October 2021. Formalin-fixed heart specimens had multiple sections cut out of them at 4–5 mm intervals. The tissues underwent preparation, followed by sectioning into 4 μm thickness using paraffin. The standard staining method of hematoxylin and eosin was used to stain the samples. Different cardiac histomorphological alterations were assessed. Results: The study included 180 autopsy cases. The highest numbers of cases were observed in the age group of 31–40 years (20.2%). Triple-vessel involvement was seen in the majority of 61.5% of cases, out of 180 cases, 52.7% of cases were of hypertrophy. Conclusions: The research highlights the prevalence of cardiovascular diseases, particularly atherosclerosis and hypertrophy. Notably, sudden death cases showed a distinct distribution across the study years, with males being predominantly affected. This underscores the urgent need for preventive measures and interventions to prevalent cardiovascular conditions effectively.

Keywords

• atherosclerosis
• autopsy study
• heart diseases
• histology