The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1898-01-19
Causes Of Sudden Death.

of the total number of cases of sud-
den death from natural causes in
adults is, more or less, due to heart
disease, which has existed for some
time, and in which 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 myocarditis. Ia
many cases concurrent lung or kidney
disease complicates the statistics, such
cases frequently being tabulated as
deaths solely due to heart disease.
Spontaneous rupture Of the heart,
mostly in men, may exceptionally
occur the left ventricle, often toward
the front, is almost invariably the
seat of the rupture. 1t is to be re-
membered that in traumic rupture Of
the heart the right side, usually the
a,lricle, suffers more frequently than
the left in the proportion Of about as
seventy to fifty-four. Apoplexy and
other cognate brain LESSONS rank Sc
cond as natural causes Of sudden
death. It is to be noted that military
aueurisms Of the vessels Of the brain,
although most common in persons past
middle life, occasionally occur in
young people, even in children, and
by bursting cause death from apo
ple1y. Chronic alcoholism, potent
factor among the causes Of sudden
death, is frequently associated with
rapidly terminating heart and brain
disease.
Asphy1ia, a not unfrequent cause,
may be due to cedema Of the glottis,
membraneous deposits in the trachca,
spasm of the vocal chords, pulmonary
embolism, air embolism, rupture Of q
vessel or Of an aneurism into the air
passages, asthma, whooping cough,
pneumonia and haemo thorax, pleuri-
tic effeusion epilepsy. The rupture
of gasric or of an intestinal ulcer, of
an aneurism, of varicose vein, Of the
surroundings of an ectopic CESSATION,
the formation of peri-uterine hae-
motocele, may severally prove quickly
fatal. Nephritis (uraemia and apo
plexy), diabetes, exophthalmic goitrc,
and Addison's disease may also termi-
nate with unexceptional rapidity.
Hemorrhage into the pancreas occa-
sionally causes sudden death, appar-
emily from the impression produced
on the contiguous nerve centers. 1t
is most common in males over 40 years
Of age who may up to the occurrence
of the hemorrhagc to all appearance
be in perfect health. Obesity, the
habitual use Of alcohol, and the pres
ence Of heart disease appear in many
of the cases to be predisposing cause.
Koetchau, however, observed hemorr-
hage into the pancreas in woman
an aleoholic-in her 24th year. Oc-
casionally it occurs in spare people
who are free from obvious disease and
who are abstemious as regards alcohol.
The. sufferer may die within half an
hour after the occurrence Of the hem
orrhage, or he may survive for twenty
four or even thirty-six hours. Draper
records FIVE cases between the ages Of
26 and IS years, Of which three we're
men and two women. Fits tabulated
sixteen cases, of which eleven were
males between 81 and 20 years of age,
and FIVE were females between 26 and
II years.
Sudden death has in instances fol-
lowed spontaneous rupture Of an en-
larged spleen, the result Of tropical
malarial influences. the individual i'm
mcdiately before rupture being to all
intents and purposes quite we'll. Pei
leraux gives the history of thirteen
cases of rupture Of the enlarged
spleen in five the rupture was spon-
taucous, and in the remainder it was
due to apparently inadequate causes,
such as simple fall in the street. 1t
is to be borne in mind that when the
spleen is thus enlarged mere pat
with the palm Of the hand may deter
mine rupture and consequent speedy
death, which, in the absence Of knowl-
edge of the experience of others,
might readily be assumed to be the
result of criminal violence.
1t is to be remembered that some Of
the above named diseases may exist
without giving rise to any symptoms
until the final moment arrives; this
applies with special force to diseases
which have prolonged course, during
which, as rule, symptoms indicative
of disease declare themselves. Such a
diaeaso ;s castric nicer. have seen