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In 9 lethal cases where clinical signs gave rise to the suspicion of acute myocardial infarct (AMI) where well-characterized e.c.g.-changes, permanent or intermittent, were found by monitoring, a very careful autopsy of the heart was carried out, combined with a meticulous histological investigation of the conduction system. Acute changes of mild degree in the conduction system were found only in one case, possibly explaining the left bundle branch block found in this case. In the remaining cases, nothing but chronic changes were found and they did not exceed significantly the changes otherwise to be found in the agegroups concerned in a "control series" of violent deaths not preceded by symptoms of heart disease. According to an estimate there was good correlation between the conduction disturbances demonstrated and the localization of histopathological changes in seven of nine patients; in one of the latter correlation was relatively good; correlation was dubious only in one case. On this basis the authors conclude that present changes in the conduction system which are assumed mainly to be age-related, are the factors to determine the type of conduction disturbances from which the patient will suffer if acute heart ischaemia sets in, for instance due to an AMI, in fact, changes by which he will be predisposed to such disturbances.
Voigt et al. (Fri,) studied this question.