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Cardiac Channelopathies and the Molecular Autopsy

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Forensic Pathology of Infancy and Childhood

Abstract

This chapter reviews clinical and molecular observations for three potentially lethal arrhythmia syndromes: long QT syndrome, catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia, and Brugada syndrome. It summarizes the role of cardiac channelopathies in sudden infant death syndrome and sudden and unexpected infant deaths; illustrates the role of cardiological assessment of surviving family members and the role of a molecular autopsy in the evaluation of sudden unexplained death and unexplained drowning in the young; and discusses some of the important issues in performing a molecular autopsy, including the benefits of genetic testing, indications for molecular autopsy, the biological material to be used in a molecular autopsy, interpretation of genetic test results, and the legal and societal implications of the molecular autopsy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Medicine (Division of Cardiovascular Diseases), Pediatrics (Division of Pediatric Cardiology), and Molecular Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics, Windland Smith Rice Sudden Death Genomics Laboratory, Mayo Clinic, 501 Guggenheim, 200 First St SW, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA

    David J. Tester & Michael J. Ackerman

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  1. David J. Tester
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  2. Michael J. Ackerman
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Correspondence to Michael J. Ackerman .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

    Kim A. Collins

  2. University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

    Roger W. Byard

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Tester, D.J., Ackerman, M.J. (2014). Cardiac Channelopathies and the Molecular Autopsy. In: Collins, K., Byard, R. (eds) Forensic Pathology of Infancy and Childhood. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-61779-403-2_34

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