Primary mesothelioma of atrioventricular node: cause of sudden death

Our plain-English summary of Primary mesothelioma of atrioventricular node: cause of sudden death, by E.H. Hemsted (Journal of Clinical Pathology, 1986).

The study

• Author: E.H. Hemsted
• Journal: Journal of Clinical Pathology
• Published: 1986;39(8):926
• Type of article: Case report, Letter
• Cited by: 4 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

In plain English

This was a short letter to the editor in the Journal of Clinical Pathology describing a single case. A 24 year old woman with no previous history of heart disease died one hour after intercourse with her husband. The author reported that the cause of death was a primary mesothelioma of the atrioventricular node, an area of the heart that contains conducting tissue. The only abnormality found in the heart was a thickening of the atrial wall at the position of the atrioventricular node and conducting fibres. Under the microscope, a lesion measuring 12 x 3 mm lay beneath the inner lining of the heart. It was made of small gland-like spaces lined by epithelial cells within dense fibrous tissue, which destroyed much of the conducting tissue. The author noted general agreement that this kind of lesion is congenital, meaning present from birth, but some disagreement about where it comes from. The letter did not mention asbestos or any other exposure. As a case report, it describes what happened to one person and gives no rates.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Case report published as a letter to the editor
• Who was studied: One 24 year old woman with no previous history of heart disease, who had one child delivered by caesarean section
• Exposure: None reported. The letter does not mention asbestos or any other exposure.
• Main results:
  • In this woman, the cause of death was a primary mesothelioma of the atrioventricular node
  • The only abnormality found in her heart was a thickening of the atrial wall at the position of the atrioventricular node and conducting fibres
  • The lesion measured 12 x 3 mm and lay beneath the endocardium
  • The lesion was made of small acini lined by epithelial cells within dense fibrous tissue, obliterating much of the neuromuscular conducting tissue
• The authors' conclusion: The author stated that there is general agreement that the lesion is congenital, but some disagreement about its origin

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Mesothelioma.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Mesothelioma.

Related studies

• Sudden death due to a cystic atrio-ventricular node tumour — G. Maujean, A. Tabib, et al. (2010)
• Congenital polycystic tumor of the atrioventricular node (endodermal heterotopia, mesothelioma): a histogenetic appraisal with evidence for its endodermal origin — G. Fine, U. Raju (1987)
• Mesothelioma of the atrioventricular node — K. Nishida, G. Kamijima, et al. (1985)
• "Mesothelioma of the atrioventricular node" with long-standing complete heart block. Report of a case — I.R. Wanless, B.W. Mielke, et al. (1975)
• Corpora amylacea in mesothelioma of the atrioventricular node — R. David, Y. Hiss (1978)
• Mesothelioma of the atrioventricular node and congenital complete heart block — R. Subramanian, B. Flygenring (1989)

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