Hemopericardium following cerebral hemorrhage. Report of an autopsy case.

The simultaneous occurrence of cerebral hemorrhage and hemopericardium due to the rupture of a dissecting aneurysm has not been previously reported. We describe an autopsy case of a 45-year-old man with hypertension who died suddenly following both of these conditions. He had been treated for hypertension; the finding of arteriolar nephrosclerosis supported the existence of the disease. Because rupture of the aorta invariably causes a marked fall in blood pressure, the occurrence of cerebral hemorrhage following hemopericardium is highly unlikely. Thus, we presume that rupture of the aorta occurred after the cerebral hemorrhage.