[Errors in postmortem diagnosis in cardiovascular diseases]

An analysis of out-patients case histories and death certificates indicates that in 22.5-35% of cases the diagnoses in death certificates did not correspond with data of examinations carried out during life when pathological examination was not made; when pathological examination or forensic studies were carried these errors reduced to 10-20%. In another 11.5% the diagnosis of ischemic heart disease was not substantiated because additional examination with the purpose to verify the diagnosis were not carried out.