Fatal rupture of pseudoaneurysm following angioplasty

We report the sudden unexpected death from exsanguination of a 60-year-old white female who underwent balloon angioplasty of her right popliteal artery via a right common femoral arteriotomy 3 weeks before death. This resulted in a mycotic pseudoaneurysm of the right femoral artery that ruptured, causing fatal exsanguination. A pseudoaneurysm is an arterial wall defect in which part of the wall consists of fibrin and fibrous tissue, lacking components of the normal arterial wall, that is intima, media, and adventitia. Pseudoaneurysms result from traumatic arterial injury, infection, rupture of a true aneurysm, or surgery. A literature search revealed no reports with the patient dying unexpectedly outside the hospital. Immediate surgical intervention and antibiotic therapy are preferred treatments.