18044              BROWN ATROPHY OF THE HEART

The patient was a woman aged 67 whose left breast had been removed 9 years previously for carcinoma. Axillary metastases were found at operation and secondary deposits soon appeared in the right lung, associated with a pleural effusion. X-ray treatment was given. At her last admission there was again a malignant right pleural effusion. She died suddenly on the 6th day.

The specimen is the heart, weight 190 gms. The heart is very small and the superficial coronary vessels are markedly tortuous. The myocardium is thin and has a distinct brown colour. The aorta and pulmonary artery are of normal size and appear strikingly large in contrast to the atrophied ventricles.