I recently went to a cardiologist who noted an abnormality ...

Hello.
In over 1000 patients with cirrhosis, the main cause of death was non-hepatic in origin Among those dying from a hepatic death, most died from liver failure . Liver failure is severe deterioration of liver function. Liver failure occurs when a large portion of the liver is damaged due to any type of liver disorder. Symptoms may include:

jaundice
tendency to bruise or bleed easily
ascites
impaired brain function
general failing health
fatigue
weakness
nausea
loss of appetite

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Relist:
Just want to see if anyone else has another opinion or additional information.

I believe that from the symptoms that you have described it would be unusual for your grandmother to have died due to liver cirrhosis alone,
It is possible that she may have an undiagnosed Brugada Syndrome that may have contributed to her demise, though as you are already aware this will be impossible to confirm at the present time.
It would seem very unlikely that she ought to have died due to liver cirrhosis in her sleep without any signs of fulminant hepatic failure ...

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Dr. Gupta

Relist: I still need help.
Follow-up questions:

1. In 1962, did they typically look for ventricular fibrillation in autopsy in cases of sudden death (with no history of cardiac disease)?

2. Could she have died from alcohol poisoning? Did they do tox screenings in '62?

1. Ventricular fibrillation is a rhythm problem, and is a cause of sudden cardiac death. It does NOT leave any telltale signs - and can only be suspected based on history. In many cases it is basically a diagnosis of exclusion.
2. Unless there was something suspicious about the death I doubt they would have done a toxicology screen. The only reason they would have done that would be if they had suspected a drug overdose or poisoning.

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So, if she was an alcoholic, but not ill at all before she died (she just fell asleep and then died). Her death certificate and (assumably autopsy report) say cirrhosis of the liver. She died in her sleep. It is unlikely that she actually died of cirrhosis.

She could have easily have died of Brugada or alcohol poisoning if no tox screen was done. I'm concerned because my ECG shows signs of Brugada. My grandmother was adopted and therefore my family history ends with her. I guess I'm left with having to have some sort of genetic testing done...

Thank you for all your help. If you have any more insights, please let me know.

Even if you knew she died of heart disease - it would not necessarily confirm the diagnosis, and it make sense to have the genetic testing done.

They may not have even done an autopsy. Many (make that MOST) death certificates are signed by the patients personal physician. If she was known to be a heavy drinker, the physician may have used alcohol as the cause of death (cirrhosis). The listed cause of death (without autopsy) often is an EDUCATED guess.

Alcohol poisoning would have been another possibility.


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