title: Sudden cardiac death in Brazil: a community-based autopsy series (2006-2010).
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is a sudden unexpected event, from a cardiac cause, that occurs in less than one hour after the symptoms onset, in a person without any previous condition that would seem fatal or who was seen without any symptoms 24 hours before found dead. Although it is a relatively frequent event, there are only few reliable data in underdeveloped countries.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We aimed to describe the features of SCD in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil (600,000 residents) according to Coroners' Office autopsy reports.
  
  
  METHODS
  We retrospectively reviewed 4501 autopsy reports between 2006 and 2010, to identify cases of SCD. Specific cause of death as well as demographic information, date, location and time of the event, comorbidities and whether cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was attempted were collected.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We identified 899 cases of SCD (20%); the rate was 30/100000 residents per year. The vast majority of cases of SCD involved a coronary artery disease (CAD) (64%) and occurred in men (67%), between the 6th and the 7th decades of life. Most events occurred during the morning in the home setting (53.3%) and CPR was attempted in almost half of victims (49.7%). The most prevalent comorbidity was systemic hypertension (57.3%). Chagas' disease was present in 49 cases (5.5%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The majority of victims of SCD were men, in their sixties and seventies and the main cause of death was CAD. Chagas' disease, an important public health problem in Latin America, was found in about 5.5% of the cases.
authors.affiliation: Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brasil.
authors.forename: Maria Fernanda
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Braggion-Santos
authors.affiliation: Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brasil.
authors.forename: Gustavo Jardim
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Volpe
authors.affiliation: Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brasil.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pazin-Filho
authors.affiliation: Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brasil.
authors.forename: Benedito Carlos
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Maciel
authors.affiliation: Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brasil.
authors.forename: José Antonio
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Marin-Neto
authors.affiliation: Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brasil.
authors.forename: André
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schmidt
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001344:Autopsy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002423:Cause of Death; D002648:Child; D015897:Comorbidity; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000401:mortality; D016757:Death, Sudden, Cardiac / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D017678:Sex Distribution; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult