Objective:

Correlate the generalities of etiology, pathogenesis, clinical presentation and current diagnostic methods available for pulmonary artery aneurysm with sudden death of these patients.

Materials and methods:

Review of medical record, autopsy analysis and scientific literature.

Case presentation:

A 39-year-old male with a history of pulmonary hypertension, who consulted for sudden dyspnea. The case was approached as a pulmonary thromboembolism. The patient presented bad clinical evolution and died. Autopsy revealed an aneurysm of the pulmonary artery.

Conclusion:

Aneurysms of the pulmonary artery are rare. The clinical presentation is nonspecific. The most reliable diagnostic methods are clinical suspicion and imaging methods, however they remain a cause of sudden death; whose finding is postmortem.