title: Causes of sudden unexpected cardiac death in the first two decades of life.
abstract: Sudden, unexpected cardiac death in the age group 1 to 21 years usually is due to myocarditis, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, aortic valvar stenosis, and coronary arterial abnormalities. The hearts of 70 patients <21 years of age who died suddenly were reviewed. Twenty patients were <1 year of age and 50 were 1 to 21 years old. The cardiac findings were compared with those in 68 age-matched controls with known cardiac disease who did not die suddenly. Significant cardiac abnormalities were present in 13 (65%) of the 20 infants; 10 (50%) had anomalies of the aortic origin of the coronary arteries. Among the 50 older patients, cardiac abnormalities were found in 40 (80%), among whom coronary arterial anomalies existed in 12 (24%). Anomalies of aortic origin more frequently involved the left main than the right coronary artery in both groups.
authors.affiliation: Registry of Cardiovascular Disease, United Hospital, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Steinberger
authors.forename: R V
authors.initials: RV
authors.lastname: Lucas
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Edwards
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Titus
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002423:Cause of Death; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016757:Death, Sudden, Cardiac / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital / Q000150:complications / Q000401:mortality; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D016555:Matched-Pair Analysis; D012189:Retrospective Studies