Sudden unexpected death in an adult patient with endocardial cushion defect

A 50-year-old male died following a road traffic accident. Postmortem examination revealed that the injuries caused by the accident did not seem to have caused his death. A large ostium primum defect was found, with bridging leaflets attached to the interventricular septum. In this article, we present a case of sudden death with partial endocardial cushion defect and discuss the mechanism of death. We believe that this is the first report of sudden death caused by endocardial cushion defect.