Key result
Comprehensive autopsy reveals only ~56% of presumed sudden cardiac deaths are truly arrhythmic.
Why the study?
The true incidence and autopsy-defined causes of sudden cardiac death are unknown due to reliance on emergency medical services records, death certificates, or inferred definitions of cause of death.
Observational (n=541)
No
Nearly half of presumed sudden cardiac deaths based on WHO criteria or EMS records are not actually arrhythmic, highlighting significant inaccuracies in aggregate mortality data and clinical trials relying on these definitions.
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Questions accuracy of WHO-defined SCDs; leaves open validity of SCD endpoints in observational data and trials.
Tseng et al. (2018) conducted an observational in Sudden cardiac death (n=541). Comprehensive autopsy and postmortem investigation vs. Presumed cause of death (WHO criteria) was evaluated on Autopsy-defined sudden arrhythmic deaths. Comprehensive autopsy of WHO-defined sudden cardiac deaths revealed that only 55.8% were true sudden arrhythmic deaths, indicating nearly half of presumed sudden cardiac deaths are not arrhythmic.
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