Characteristics of cardiovascular deaths in forensic medical cases in Budapest, Vilnius and Tallinn

Abstract

Evaluation of the pathomorphological characteristics of natural sudden cardiovascular death cases is essential for the determination of the cause of death. The main purpose of this study was to investigate medico-legal patterns of cardiovascular death and to study how different geographical climatic influences may effect cardiac mortality in three capitals such as Budapest, Vilnius and Tallinn. There were 8482 (5753 male, 2729 female) cardiovascular deaths between 2005 and 2009. The highest rate was observed in the age group of 71-80 years (35.17%) and 51-60 years (24.45%) and a rapid increase was detected at the age of 31-40 years (2.84%). The highest number of cardiovascular deaths occurred in January (805/9.49%) and in December (770/9.07%). Seasonal distribution was observed with winter prevalence in Tallinn (279/3.2%) and with sping prevalence in Vilnius (760/8.9%). Based on our results we can conclude that environmental-geographical parameters may affect natural cardiovascular death. Examination of pathological patterns and predisposing environmental parameters may help to improve the prevention strategies.