Difference in molecular pathology of natriuretic peptides in the myocardium between acute asphyxial and cardiac deaths.

In investigating death due to mechanical asphyxiation and drowning, a cardiac attack is important for discriminating between possible causes of death and as a contributory factor in death processes; however, general pathologies involving visceral congestion are often similar. The present study compared terminal cardiac dysfunction in these fatalities using the molecular pathology of atrial and brain natriuretic peptides (ANP and BNP) in the myocardium as markers of cardiac strain. Both mechanical asphyxiation (n=27) and drowning (n=23) showed significantly lower ANP and BNP mRNA expressions in bilateral ventricular walls than sudden cardiac deaths (n=36). In addition, right atrial wall BNP mRNA expression was lower in asphyxiation; however, immunostaining did not demonstrate any difference among these fatalities. Differences among the subtypes of asphyxiation or between fresh- and saltwater drowning were insignificant. These observations suggest a difference between primary heart failure in sudden cardiac death and terminal cardiac dysfunction secondary to fatal asphyxiation or drowning.