Cause of Death - Common Terms & Abbreviations

Determination of a cause of death is not as definitive as television shows would have us believe. In the absence of an autopsy (and at times even when an autopsy is performed), a cause of death is a physicians best judgment taking into account the patients chief complaint at time of death and factoring in past medical history (PMH) in order to make a probable cause determination. In addition, cause of death determination may be complicated by contributing factors that, in and of themselves in isolation, may not be a specific cause of death.

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) - Buildup of fluid in the alveolar spaces of the lung limiting surface area for oxygen exchange. Commonly secondary to conditions such as sepsis, toxic lung damage, sever pneumonia, or other chest/lung injury.

Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) – This is one of a spectra of cardiovascular diseases and is a thickening of the artery wall through buildup of fatty material that can occlude the vessel. 

Aortic Aneurysm (AA) - A general term for any dilation of the aorta, they can occur at the aortic root or the thoracic aorta, but the most common type is abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA). Rupture will result in blood loss and can lead to death.

Atrial Fibrillation (AF, Afib) - Cardiac arrhythmia (abnormal heart rhythm) involving the two upper chambers (atria) of the heart. This is the most common type of cardiac arrhythmia.

Cardiomyopathy (CM) – A generic term for heart muscle disease that results in the deterioration of the heart function, the most common form is dilated cardiomyopathy (involving heart enlargement).

Cardiopulmonary arrest – Commonly just called cardiac arrest or circulatory arrest, this is the cessation of normal circulation of the blood due to failure of the heart to contract effectively.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) – A spectrum of conditions that involves the heart or blood vessels, commonly used to refer to atherosclerosis but also includes hypertension and heart disease.

Cerebrovascular accident (CVA) – More commonly known as stroke, this occurs when a region of brain does not receive sufficient blood through blockage or when a blood vessel ruptures depriving a region of blood supply.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) - A condition in which the kidneys are damaged and cannot filter blood as well as they should, leading to renal failure.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) - co-occurrence of chronic bronchitis and emphysema, a pair of lung diseases commonly co-existing, in which the airways become narrowed limiting air flow to/from the lungs.

Congestive heart failure (CHF) – Commonly known as a heart failure and generally defined as the inability of the heart to supply sufficient blood flow to meet the needs of the body.

Coronary artery disease (CAD) – Atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, that involves the coronary arteries commonly leading to occlusion followed by ischemia and myocardial infarction.

Debility - This is a general term for a loss of strength, to being weak or feeble, essentially the same classification as ‘failure to thrive’.

Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) – This is a blood clot forming in a vein deep in the body, this can break off and result in an embolism damaging the lungs of other organs.

Dementia – A broad term for any gradual decline in neural function leading to loss of organ function (e.g. Alzheimer’s), often underreported as a cause or contributing factor to death.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) – This is a group of metabolic diseases in which a person has high blood sugar, most commonly just known as diabetes.

Emphysema – An enlargement of the air spaces distal to the terminal bronchioles, with destruction of their walls reducing the surface area for gas exchange and leading to respiratory failure.

End-stage renal disease (ESRD) – This is also known as chronic kidney disease (CKD) and exhibits diminishing renal function.

Failure to thrive (FTT) - A descriptive, non-specific term that encompasses "not doing well" for a patient in generally failing health.

Hemorrhagic stroke – A class of stroke that occurs when a weakened blood vessel ruptures, most commonly from an aneurysm but can occur from abnormally formed vessels that rupture.

Hypertension-related (HTN) - Hypertension, high blood pressure, is a significant risk factor for developing further complications such as coronary artery disease.

Hypertensive cardiovascular disease (HCVD) - Hypertensive heart disease is a long-term condition that develops over many years in people who have high blood pressure increasing risk of heart failure. 

Ischemic heart disease (IHD) – A condition characterized by ischemia (reduced blood supply) of the heart muscle leading to dysfunction.

Ischemic stroke - These strokes occur as a result of an obstruction within a blood vessel supplying blood to the brain resulting in ischemia to the brain region.

Myocardial infarction (MI) – Also called acute myocardial infarction (AMI), more commonly known as a heart attack, is the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die

Non-ischemic cardiomyopathy - Damage to heart muscle that is not associated with interruptions to the heart's blood supply.

Peripheral Vascular Disease (PVD) – This refers to the obstruction of large arteries that are not within the coronary, aortic arch vasculature, or brain. Also known as peripheral arterial disease (PAD) or peripheral artery occlusive disease (PAOD).

Pleural effusion – A condition due to excess fluid that accumulates in the pleura, the fluid-filled space that surrounds the lungs.

Pneumonia – Pneumonia is a lung inflammatory condition, typically the result of an infection, resulting in respiratory failure.

Renal failure – A condition in which the kidneys fail to adequately filter toxins and waste products from the blood, also known as kidney failure.

Sepsis (SRIS) - A systemic (whole body) inflammatory response due to severe infection occurring even after the infection has ended leading to organ failure.

Septic shock – Decreased tissue perfusion and oxygen delivery as a result of severe infection and sepsis that can lead to multiple organ failure.

Urinary tract infection (UTI) - Urinary tract infections can cause serious health problems such as delirium and confusion, and even death by impacting urinary function.

Ventricular Fibrillation (VF) - Uncontrolled contraction of the ventricular cardiac muscles, less common than atrial arrhythmia in cardiac arrest patients.