Sudden death due to aortic rupture complicating undiagnosed coarctation of the aorta in a teenager – A case report and review of the literature

Coarctation of the aorta is one of the more common congenital cardiac defects accounting for between 5 and 10% of cases of congenital heart disease. It has traditionally been divided into infantile (pre-ductal) and adult (ductal) types. Prior to the development of surgical treatment for coarctation, the condition was associated with significant morbidity and mortality with the most common causes of death being aortic rupture, congestive cardiac failure, endocarditis and intracerebral haemorrhage. Presentation of undiagnosed aortic coarctation as sudden and unexpected death is today a distinctly uncommon phenomenon. We report one such case, that of an adolescent male who at autopsy was noted to have coarctation of ductal type with aortic dissection and haemopericardium. The presence of this condition should be considered by the forensic pathologist confronted with aortic dissection, particularly in a young person.