The authors describe a case of a 38-year-old woman suffering from long-standing epigastric pain, abdominal fullness and vomiting due to functional alteration of gastroduodenal motility. Following a surgical procedure, a supraventricular tachyarrhythmia and hemodynamic disturbances suddenly appeared and led to death in a few hours. A histopathological study carried out on the brain stem revealed inflammatory lesions suggestive of a viral infection, whereas the study of the conduction system of the heart did not show any alterations. A clinicopathological correlation is suggested between the clinical picture and anatomical lesions of the tegmental region.