Never Presume Healthy by Physique

Dr. A. Yadaiah, Dr. Boda Crystal, Dr. Chinna Boya

Abstract: In the field of Forensic Medicine, experts deal with not only homicidal, suicidal and accidental deaths, but also wide range of natural and sudden deaths. These deaths would be clinically unexplained, sudden or obscure without having any prior history of illness or criminal intent. Suspicion usually arises when a healthy looking individual is found dead. Investigation of sudden and unnatural deaths becomes a challenge for forensic expert to find out the cause and manner of death. In many of sudden deaths, cause of death is related to cardiac system. In cardiac related deaths, cardiac tamponade is rare but untimely life threatening cause of death where there is no clinical presentation of symptoms and is frequently diagnosed during postmortem examination. In this article, we would like to report the death of healthy individual who died due to cardiac tamponade following rupture of aortic aneurysm.

Keywords: Thoracic aortic aneurysm, pericardial haematoma, cardiac tamponade, sudden death, postmortem examination