Sudden Death As A First Sign of Unilateral Pheochromocytom: A Case Report

Ischemic heart disease is easily the most common cause of sudden death. Pheochromocytom is a rare catecholamine-releasing tumor, composed of chromaffin cells and is a rare cause of sudden death. In this paper, a case of sudden death due to a pheochromocytoma in an apparently healthy 22-year old woman is presented. In autopsy, no abnormality was found in her heart and other organs; just, a pheochromacytoma. In case of sudden death, the pathologist’s attention is usually toward the heart. This case underlines that it is necessary to perform a complete and accurate autopsy also, looking for alterations in other organs, besides heart, that could explain the death.