Diagnostic value of post-mortem examination of the cardiac conduction system

An autopsy study of sudden cardiac death in persons aged 1–40 years in Brescia (Italy)

“…44,50,51 In many cases, sudden death in young people remains unexplained after a complete autopsy and after an accurate conduction system analysis: like previous studies, 52,53 SUD is frequent in our study (22.2% of autopsied sudden death cases). This high number of SUDs can be explained by the strict application of the major diagnostic criteria relative to the main histomorphological alterations, with particular reference to the arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy of the right ventricle, the hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and the myocarditis.…”

“…may be common. 44 The CCS anatomical variability and the lack of experience in sampling techniques and in learning about the CCS, together with different interpretations of results given by the authors, make a correct evaluation of each histomorphological finding more difficult. 45 Persistent fetal dispersion of the atrio-ventricular node and marked fragmentation of the His bundle were observed in five cases of this study.…”