Table 1

Acute evidence for cause of death; nine cases

Death certificate entry	Age	History	Main evidence for cause of death
Abdominal aneurysm	68	Abdominal pain/collapse	Ultrasound showed aneurysm
	77	Abdominal pain/collapse	Ultrasound showed aneurysm
	70	Abdominal pain/collapse	Died in theatre during repair
	79	Abdominal pain/collapse	Died in theatre during repair
Myocardial infarct	86	Collapse	Acute ECG changes
Myocardial infarct	75	Chest pain/collapse	Acute ECG changes
Myocardial infarct	80	Collapse/hypotensive	Acute ECG changes
Cardiac failure	82	Gross clinical failure	Ischaemic ECG
Cerebrovascular accident (CVA)	74	Collapse/unresponsive	CT showed acute infarct