Natural death in the setting of autoerotic practice

Deaths in an autoerotic setting are usually due to accidental asphyxia, in which the individual accidently hangs or strangles themselves while inducing hypoxia for the purpose of heightened arousal. Death occurs when the level of hypoxia causes the individual to lose consciousness and is thus unable to prevent the neck compression from becoming lethal. In some cases there is an “escape” mechanism incorporated into the set-up which may fail. In rare cases, death is not as an immediate result of the autoerotic activity and is as a result of natural causes, which may or may not be related to the process. This case demonstrates the death of a 69 year old male which has occurred in the setting of a complex autoerotic environment, not as a result of asphyxiation, but rather as a result of natural causes which is likely to have been brought about by repeated similar activity. The autopsy revealed pulmonary emboli and lower limb deep vein thrombosis. There was no other natural disease of note and no features considered typical of asphyxiation.