Unexpected sudden death during acute myocardial infarction: role of primary electromechanical dissociation

The causes of death during the acute phase of myocardial infarction were studied in 128 patients. Forty-three of these, who had no clear signs of cardiocirculatory failure, were considered to be cases of sudden and unexpected death. Thirty-two of these patients (74%) had electromechanical dissociation, defined as a sudden disappearance of an effective arterial pressure in the presence of adequate electrocardiographic complexes. Twenty-three patients who had been given this diagnosis were males and 9 females; 53% presented with anterior infarction, 31% with infero-posterior infarction, 3.5% with both anterior and infero-posterior and 12.5% with non-Q wave infarction. A previous episode of infarction was recorded in 31.2% of patients with electromechanical dissociation. Autopsy was performed in 84 patients, 23 of whom died with electromechanical dissociation. Half of the latter cases revealed cardiac rupture (secondary electromechanical dissociation), whereas in the other half death was due to primary electromechanical dissociation. The study stresses the relatively high incidence of this cause of death and the need to differentiate between the two different forms. Although at present the pathophysiology of primary electromechanical dissociation is not completely understood, we believe that recurrence of global or local ischemia may play a more important role than cardiovascular inhibitory reflexes.