Sudden death and partial absence of the right ventricular myocardium: a report of three cases and a review of the literature.

Three patients with congenital partial absence of the right ventricular myocardium were studied. These cases are unique in that all three patients died suddenly and none had clinical evidence of cardiovascular disease. Two of the three patients were active in sports, and both died suddenly while playing basketball. At the time of autopsy, the only significant abnormality was cardiomegaly, with right atrial and ventricular dilation and partial absence of the right ventricular myocardium.