Sudden cardiac death in the young: a 1-year post-mortem analysis in the Republic of Ireland

Ir J Med Sci. 2009 Sep;178(3):257-61. doi: 10.1007/s11845-009-0294-8. Epub 2009 Feb 17.

Abstract

Aims: A retrospective post-mortem analysis was undertaken to determine the aetiology of sudden cardiac death (SCD) amongst individuals aged <or=35 years who died in Ireland in 2005.

Methods and results: The Central Statistics Office registered 122 deaths amongst those aged <or=35 that were possibly due to a cardiac cause based on the ICD-9 classification system. Fifty three cases were excluded because no post-mortem was performed (n = 29), reports were insufficient or unavailable (n = 10), because death was non-cardiac (n = 12) or occurred following a medical procedure (n = 2). Victims were predominantly male. The commonest finding at autopsy in those <14 years of age was a structurally normal heart in 20/27 subjects (74%) and in those aged 14-35 years was hypertrophic cardiomyopathy or left ventricular hypertrophy in 17/42 subjects (40.5%).

Conclusion: The national incidence of SCD was 5.59 males and 0.78 females (3.18 overall) per 100,000 males and females aged 14-35, respectively, in 2005.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Age Factors
  • Arrhythmias, Cardiac / epidemiology*
  • Arrhythmias, Cardiac / mortality
  • Autopsy / statistics & numerical data
  • Cardiomyopathies / epidemiology
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Death, Sudden, Cardiac / epidemiology*
  • Death, Sudden, Cardiac / pathology
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Infant, Newborn
  • Ireland / epidemiology
  • Male
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Time Factors
  • Young Adult