Citation

Mu J, Zhang J, Liu L, Dong H. Med. Sci. Law 2015; 56(2): 138-141.

Affiliation

Department of Forensic Medicine, Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, People's Republic of China hongmeidong1@hotmail.com.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, British Academy of Forensic Sciences, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0025802415575590

PMID

25757838

Abstract

Commotio cordis is a rare and fatal mechano-electric arrhythmogenic syndrome, occurring mainly during sports activities. The present study describes two cases of sudden death due to homicidal commotio cordis caused violence from an intimate partner. The two decedents were both young women. They suffered from physical abuse by their intimate partner and collapsed immediately after being punched in the precordium. Electrocardiograms were recorded at the hospital and showed ventricular fibrillation in one case. An autopsy was performed in each case, and no structural cardiac damage, evident lesions of other internal organs or underlying diseases were found. Combined with the negative toxicological analysis, it was concluded that the cause of death was commotio cordis due to a blunt force to the anterior chest. To the best of the authors' knowledge, there is no published report on commotio cordis caused by physical abuse from an intimate partner. The accurate diagnosis of the cause of death is emphasised, as it is important for judicial fairness.

Language: en