• Taner Daş, Aytül Buğra, and Abdul Kerim Buğra.
• Morgue Department, Histopathology Unit, The Council of Forensic Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey. tanerdas@hotmail.com.
• Ir J Med Sci. 2022 Apr 1; 191 (2): 937-944.

BackgroundThe vast majority of sudden and unexpected natural deaths are related to cardiovascular diseases, especially coronary artery diseases.AimsIn this study, we aimed to reveal the epidemiological differences between men and women and to investigate the most common pathologies that cause cardiac deaths.MethodsFive thousand seven hundred sixty-eight autopsy cases that were done in 2016 were reviewed for the autopsy information and histopathological findings. Of the 5768 autopsies performed, 866 were due to cardiac causes. Eight hundred thirty-two cases were reviewed due to lack of autopsy information in 34 cases.ResultsOne hundred sixteen (13.9%) were female, and 716 (86.1%) were male. Coronary artery disease was detected in 760 of 832 cases. There were findings of acute or previous myocardial infarction in 595 (71.5%), perivascular and interstitial fibrosis in 159 (19.1%), myocardial rupture and tamponade in 31 (%3.7), valvular disease in 6 (0.7%), cardiomyopathy in 4 (0.5%), and congenital heart disease in 3 (0.4%). In the study, it was observed that the mean age of death due to cardiac pathology other than coronary artery disease was significantly lower than deaths due to coronary artery disease (p < 0.05). The presence of coronary artery disease in men was found to be significantly higher than in women (p < 0.001).ConclusionIn our study, it was found that deaths due to coronary artery disease are seen at an older age than cardiac deaths other than coronary artery disease. In addition, in line with current knowledge, it has been confirmed that the mortality rate of coronary artery disease is higher in men than in women.© 2021. Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland.

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