Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura causing rapid unexpected death

Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) shares histologic features with disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) but is clinically distinct. TTP may result in myocardial hemorrhages and rapid death. We compared rapidly fatal TTP with heart involvement and DIC cases to determine if the differential diagnosis of TTP and DIC could be aided by immunohistochemical techniques.We examined 11 hearts from seven women and four men dying with TTP...