Fatal rupture of an unsuspected post-traumatic aneurysm of the thoracic aorta during pregnancy.

A 27 year old woman presented during the third trimester of her second pregnancy complaining of chest pain. A chest radiograph showed a large aneurysm arising from the distal part of the aortic arch. She was transferred to the regional cardiothoracic centre but died suddenly on arrival. Necropsy confirmed a ruptured saccular aortic aneurysm arising just distal to the left subclavian artery. A history of a road traffic accident at the age of 12 was obtained from relatives after the patient's death. Vascular and haemodynamic changes in pregnancy may have caused the rupture of this previously silent post-traumatic aortic aneurysm.