[The method for the postmortem verification of ventricular fibrillation as a mechanism of death from myocardial infarction and post-infarction cardiosclerosis].

The objective of the present study was to develop the objective method for the verification of death from ventricular fibrillation (VF) as a complication of myocardial infarction and post-infarction cardiosclerosis (PICS). A total of 20 cases of death during different periods after myocardial infarction and PICS were available for the analysis in which EGC-confirmed ventricular fibrillation was the immediate cause of the fatal outcome. The control group was comprised of 29 cases of death from other complications. The special emphasis was laid on the investigation of the affected region, the boundary areas, and intact zones of the heart. The size of cardiac cell populations surrounding capillaries was determined. The statistical treatment of the results of the study revealed the difference in the cellular infiltrate composition between the groups of patients who had died from ventricular fibrillation and other causes. The differences were largely reduced to the number of lymphocytes, neutrophils, and leukocytes. The data thus obtained provided a basis for the development of the method for the objective postmortem verification of the complication being considered.