Postoperative ventricular fibrillation and undiagnosed primary amyloidosis.

AMYLOIDOSIS is a disease characterized by deposition of amyloid proteins in various body tissues. The natural history of primary amyloidosis is poorly understood, and the clinical diagnosis is often not made until the disease is far advanced. There is a high prevalence of conduction disturbances associated with this disease, and heart-related problems are a frequent cause of death for patients with primary amyloidosis. Sudden death is common, occurring in one third of these patients. Here we present a case of unexpected postoperative cardiac arrest in a patient who was found at autopsy to have primary amyloidosis.