"Bangungut" refers to the rapid and unexpected death during sleep of previously healthy Filipino men in the 3d or 4th decade of life. The mechanism of death in this peculiar disorder has not been satisfactorily explained. Some articles of the Filipino diet which the affected individuals have consumed prior to death have produced hypotension or death from respiratory paralysis when given intragastrically or intravenously to dogs. The data collected from 11 cases of this entity seen in Guam during a 4-year period have corroborated the impression of others that the clinical picture invariably follows a well defined pattern, and that the findings at autopsy are nonspecific and indicative of acute cardiorespiratory failure.