In a large forensic autopsy series, cardiovascular disease was a major cause of death, and a high prevalence of structural cardiac abnormalities, including myocardial bridges, was observed.
CVD drives nearly one-quarter of forensic deaths; observational autopsy data leave open the prognostic value of prevalent structural abnormalities.
The incidence of various types of cardiovascular disease was evaluated in 2007 consecutive forensic patients. Cardiovascular deaths accounted for 22.8% of the study patients and atherosclerotic coronary heart disease was the most common type of cardiac disease (18%). Among subjects dying of atherosclerotic coronary disease, sudden death was three times more frequent than acute myocardial infarction. Expected cardiac findings included the incidence of severe coronary atherosclerosis (21%), floppy mitral valves (5%), and congenital bicuspid aortic valves (1%). Major cardiac findings occurred in 32% and minor cardiac findings were found in 40%. Only 17% of hearts were anatomically normal. An unexpected cardiac necropsy finding included the high frequency of myocardial bridges (23%). Unexpected cardiac findings included the low incidence of acute myocarditis (0.6%) and common finding of tunneled epicardial coronary arteries ("myocardial bridges") (23%).
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Waller et al. (1992) studied this question.
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