Published in:
01-07-2014 | Review Article
Negative autopsy and sudden cardiac death
Authors:
Oscar Campuzano, Catarina Allegue, Sara Partemi, Anna Iglesias, Antonio Oliva, Ramon Brugada
Published in:
International Journal of Legal Medicine
|
Issue 4/2014
Login to get access
Abstract
Forensic medicine defines the unexplained sudden death as a death with a non-conclusive diagnosis after autopsy. Molecular diagnosis is being progressively incorporated in forensics, mainly due to improvement in genetics. New genetic technologies may help to identify the genetic cause of death, despite clinical interpretation of genetic data remains the current challenge. The identification of an inheritable defect responsible for arrhythmogenic syndromes could help to adopt preventive measures in family members, many of them asymptomatic but at risk of sudden death. This multidisciplinary translational research requires a specialized team.