Causes of sudden cardiac death in young Australians.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the causes of sudden cardiac death in people aged 35 years or younger.


METHODS
A review of all autopsies performed between 1 January 1994 and 31 December 2002 at a major Sydney forensic medicine department serving an area with over 2 million people.


METHODS
Incidence of various types of cardiac disease causing sudden death in those aged <or= 35 years; proportion of deaths in which no cause was found at autopsy.


RESULTS
There were 10 199 autopsies performed during the study period. Of these, 2986 (29.2%) deaths occurred in people aged <or= 35 years; 193 were classified as sudden cardiac deaths. The cause of sudden death in this group was not established in 60 (31%), and was presumed to be due to primary arrhythmogenic disorders. Coronary artery disease occurred in 46 (24%), hypertrophic cardiomyopathy/unexplained left ventricular hypertrophy in 29 (15%), and myocarditis in 23 (12%).


CONCLUSIONS
Unexplained deaths, presumed to result from sudden primary arrhythmogenic causes, occur in young Australians with structurally normal hearts. That underlying disease-causing genetic defects may be involved has clinical implications for family members.
Doolan
Alessandra
A
Agnes Ginges Centre for Molecular Cardiology, Centenary Institute, Newtown, NSW.
Langlois
Neil
N
Semsarian
Christopher
C
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D001344:Autopsy; D002423:Cause of Death; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016757:Death, Sudden, Cardiac / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D009517:New South Wales / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies