DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2016.v04i03.045

Pages: 845-854

The term sudden cardiac death (SCD) pertains to an unexpected death from cardiac causes within a short time period and has been described throughout history. The aim of the study was to evaluate the data with respect to incidences, epidemiological aspects, impact of risk factors, estimate the survival time and cause of death in relation to sudden natural cardiac death victims. This study was conducted on 137 victims of sudden cardiac death brought to Seth G.S. Medical College & KEM Hospital, Mumbai, India during period from January 2014 to July 2015. The incidence of sudden natural cardiac deaths among the total medico legal autopsies is 6.26%, with most affected age group of 51-60 years. The male to female ratio was 4.07:1. Smoking and alcohol habits outnumbered the other risk factors. Majority of the deaths were within 1-6 hours of onset of symptoms i.e. in 85 (62.04%) cases. Ischemic heart disease contributed maximum number of deaths i.e. 126 cases (91.97%). Out of which, 81 (59.12%) cases showed critical coronary stenosis. Maximum number of coronary arteries were blocked within 2 cm of origin of the artery i.e. 60 (74.07%), most commonly seen in left anterior descending artery (LAD) 38 cases (46.91%). Cardiovascular pathology is a major contributor for sudden death. There is a need for defining and initiating preventive cardiovascular health measures to meaningfully reduce the incidence of SCD.