St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1898-02-12
CAUSE OF SUDDEN DEATH.

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CAUSE or SUDDEN DEATH.
one-Hale of the Total Number Due
to Heart Disease.
| ! Roughly speaking, about one-half OF
the total number Of cases Of sudden
death from natural causes In adults Is,
more or less, due to heart disease, which
has existed for some time, and inwhich
no further change is in progress at the
time Of death-such as valvular disease,
angina, fatty heart, and sclerosis of the
cardiac muscle from chronic myocar-
ditis. In many cases concurrent lung
or kidney disease complicates the sta
tlstics, such cases frequently being
tabulated as deaths solely due to
heart disease. Spontaneous rupture Of
the heart, mostly in men, may excep-
tionally occur; the left yentricle, often
toward the front, Is almost invariably
the seat OF the rupture. It is to be re-
melnbered that In traumic rupture OF
the heart the right side, usually the au-
ricle, suffers more frequently than the
left in the proportion Of about as 10 to.
81. Apoplexy and other cognate brain
LESSONS rank second as natural causes OF
sudden death. It is to be noted that
military aneurisms of the vessels of the
brain, although most common in per-
sons pastmiddle life, occasionally occur
in young people, even In children, and
by bursting cause death from apoplexy.
Chronic alcoholism, potent factor
among the causes OF sudden death, Is
frequently associated with rapidly
terminating heart and brain disease.
Asphyxia, a, not unfrequent cause,
may be due to oedema of the glottis,
membranous deposits in the trachea,
pressure of neoplasm on the trachea,
spasm of the vocal chords, pulmonary
embolism, air embolism, rupture Of q
vessel or Of an aneurisnl into the air
passages, asthma, whoopfng cough,
pneumonia and haemo thorax, pleuritic
effusion and epilepsy. The rupture Of
gastric or Of an intestinal ulcer, OF an
aneurism. OF varicose vein of the sur
roundings of an ectopic CESSATION. the
formation of peri-uterine haemoto-
ce1e. may severally prove quickly fatal.
Eephritis (uraemia and apoplexy1, dia-
betes, exophthalmic goitre, and Addi-
sens disease may also terminate with
unexpected rapidity. Hemorrhage
into the pancreas occasionally causes
sudden death, apparently from the inn
preston produced on the contiguous
nerve centers. II is most common In
males over 40 years Of age who may up
to the occurrence of the hemorrhage to
oil appearances be In perfect health.
Obesity, The habitual use OF alcohol and
the presence of Heart disease appear In
many of the cases to be predisposing
cause. Koetschau. however, observed
hemorrhage into the pancreas In o
woman--an alcoholic--in her twenty
fourth year. Occasionally 1t occurs In
spare people who are free from obvious
disease and who are abstemious as re-
CARDS alcohol The sufferer may die
within half an hour after the occur,
renee OF the hemorrhage, or he may
survive for "a or even SO, hours.
Draper records Ave cases between the
ages of 26 and 35 years, Of which three
were men and two women. Fitz tabu-
lated 18 cases, Of which II were males
between 81 and 10 years OF age. and
i've were females between e6 and AZ
years.
Sudden death has In instances fol.
lowed spontaneous rupture Of an en-
larged spleen, the result Of tropical
ma1aria1 influences, the individual im-
mediately before rupture being 20 all
intents and purposes quite well. Pei
lereaux gives the history Of 10 cases Of
rupture OF the enlarged spleen. In Ave
the rupture was spontaneous, and In
the remainder II was due to apparently
inadequate causes, such as q simple fail
10 the street. 1t is to be borne Ia mind
that when the spleen is thus enlarged q
mere pat with the palm Of the hand may
determine rupture and consequent
speedy death, which. In the absence OF
knowledge of the experience OF others,
might readily be assumed to be the re-
suit OF criminal violence.
It is to be remembered that some OF
the above-named diseases may exist
without giving risc to any symptoms
until the final moment arrives; this APP
plies with special force to diseases
which have prolonged course. during
which. as a rule, symptoms indicative
of disease declare themselves. Such o
disease is gastric ulcer. / have seen
more than one case In which, until the
fatal rupture occurred, absolutely no
symptoms were experienced, not even
such as might have been attributed to
simple dyspepsia; In one such instance
Q second ulcer was present In the walls
Of the stomach in addition to the one
that ruptured and caused death, and jet
until perforation occurred the patient
never felt any abnornal sensation
Mhateyer.-Dr. >. D. Mann, In London
Lancet.