Oxidants and Metabolism

Sudden cardiac death (SCD) refers to death after an unexpected sudden cardiac arrest in a patient with or without known structural heart disease. The incidence of SCD in the United States ranges from 300 000 to 460 000 events per year, depending on the criteria for SCD used for surveillance. SCD results from a complex interaction between preexisting cardiac substrates, either structural or genetic, with superimposed physiological or environmental triggers. The most common underlying causal disorders for SCD in adults aged ≥35 are coronary heart disease (65%–80%) and dilated cardiomyopathy (10%–15%). Various types of cardiomyopathy (eg, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy, infiltrative, inflammatory, and valvular diseases), genetically determined rhythm disorders (eg, long-QT syndrome, Brugada syndrome, and catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia), or developmental disorders (anomalous origins of coronary arteries) account for most of the remaining SCDs. The epidemiology Sudden Cardiac Death Compendium