Sudden death due to left coronary artery occlusion in infective endocarditis.

A 44-year-old man died suddenly, shortly after admission to the hospital with complaints of abdominal pain. Medical history was significant for chronic alcoholism and homozygous hemoglobin C disease. Autopsy revealed vegetations on the aortic valve, especially on the left coronary cusp. There was anomalous origin of the coronary arteries from the left sinus of Valsalva. The large vegetation on the left coronary cusp had extended into the left main-stem coronary artery and obstructed it. There was evidence of prior embolization to the right coronary artery with mycotic aneurysm formation and myocardial infarction. Other lesions included a cerebral artery mycotic aneurysm and metastatic abscesses within the myocardium and spleen. Although the aortic valve was free of underlying chronic pathology, the causative organism was Streptococcus viridans. This case illustrates several unusual, and, in some instances, unique findings in infective endocarditis.