Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy and sudden cardiac death in young Koreans.
The aim of this study was to assess the frequency and clinical characteristics of arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) in young victims of sudden cardiac death (SCD). From January 1999 to December 2000, postmortem studies were conducted in 38 cases of SCD (age < or =35 (27+/-7) years old, 26 male) from the Taegu-Kyungpook region of southeastern Korea. Cases of sudden infant death syndrome were excluded. The causes of SCD were ARVC in 42%, acute myocardial infarction in 11%, myocarditis in 11%, pulmonary embolism in 8%, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in 5%, aortic rupture in 3%, aortic stenosis in 3%, and unknown in 18%. The mean age of the 16 ARVC victims was 27+/-5 years and 10 were male. None were competitive athletes, or had been suspected of having cardiovascular disease before death. SCD was not related to vigorous physical or competitive activity and occurred during sleep in 7 cases, during work in 4, during bathing in 2, while driving, praying and eating in 1 case each. ARVC is an important cause of SCD in young people in this area of Korea.
Department of Internal Medicine, Kyungpook National University Hospital, Taegu, Korea. choyk@knu.ac.kr
Yongkeun
Y
Cho
Taein
T
Park
Dong Heon
DH
Yang
Hun-Sik
HS
Park
Jongmin
J
Chae
Shung-Chull
SC
Chae
Jae-Eun
JE
Jun
Jyung-Sik
JS
Kwak
Wee-Hyun
WH
Park
D000328:Adult; D019571:Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Dysplasia / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality*; D002423:Cause of Death; D016757:Death, Sudden, Cardiac / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D005192:Family Health; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007723:Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D009206:Myocardium / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D018879:Ventricular Premature Complexes
D005227:Fatty Acids