Negative Autopsy: Post-Mortem Genetic Diagnosis of Inherited Arrhythmogenic Syndromes

Negative autopsy is a complete post-mortem examination without a definite cause of death. A low percentage of autopsies remain as negative but most part of these cases usually occurs in infants and young population who died suddenly and unexpectedly. In these concrete situations, an arrhythmogenic event is highly suspected as most probable cause of sudden death. Therefore, sudden death is a natural and unexpected decease that occurs in apparently healthy individuals, or whose disease was not severe enough to expect a fatal outcome. This lethal event can be due to several pathologies, usually malignant cardiac arrhythmogenic (sudden cardiac death). Nowadays, a 20% of all sudden cardiac death is of genetic origin, being a result of an inherited arrhythmogenic disease. Therefore, a comprehensive genetic analysis (molecular autopsy) is highly recommended despite no regularly performed. Unfortunately, sudden cardiac death could be the first manifestation of any of these arrhythmogenic diseases.