Sudden death from cardiac hydatidosis

Abstract

Hydatidosis is an endemic parasite disease in regions where sheep are bred; it affects mainly the liver and the
lungs. Cardiac cases make up only 0.5 to 2% of all the cases in the endemic area. The clinical signs of cardiac
hydatidosis are atypical. In most cases, the cyst is discovered when there are complications or during the autopsy.
Reported cases of sudden death when there is a cardiac hydatic cyst are extremely rare. The burst, infected or fissured hydatic cyst is directly involved in the genesis of the death. However, a macroscopically intact cyst can also
be involved in the death mechanism through disturbance of the cardiac rhythm and the conduction it causes or by
fissuring that went unnoticed during the macroscopic examination.