Postmortem Evaluation of Adrenal and Other Endocrine Tumors in Patients With Sudden Death Without Definitive Causative Diagnosis (PEA-SuddenDeath)

Sudden Cardiac Death is a leading cause of mortality and remains a major public health burden worldwide. Cardiac arrest due to coronary heart disease explains a large proportion of the cases, but if autopsy is not performed the exact underlying cause remains obscure in many adults who face sudden death outside heath care organizations. The investigators aim to find proof that primary aldosteronism is a risk factor for sudden death and to characterize the prevalence of adrenal pathology in sudden death of undetermined cause in a case-control study. In addition, the study aims to characterize the prevalence of other adrenal pathology i.e. silent adenomas, cortisol-producing adenomas and pheochromocytomas in sudden death. The investigators also seek evidence that other endocrine hormone overproduction-causing diseases are more prevalent in persons with sudden death compared with those experiencing traumatic or suicidal death sudden death.