Abstract 14196: Prevalence of Ischemic and Nonischemic Sudden Cardiac Death Differs by Sex and Age

Introduction: During the last decades the proportion of nonischemic sudden cardiac death (NI-SCD) seems to have increased in both sexes. In women the incidence of coronary artery disease (CAD) starts to increase after the menopause.

Aim: The aim of this study was to illustrate how the amount and the proportions of ischemic SCD (I-SCD) and NI-SCD vary between women and men in different age groups.

Methods: The Fingesture study consists systemically collected clinical and autopsy data of 5,869 SCD victims of Northern of Finland (21% women).

Results: In women 6.7% of the SCDs occurred at the age < 50 years and in men 11.4% (P<0.001 for both). I-SCDs covered 75% (P<0.001) of the cases of which 80% were men (P=0.005). The proportion of NI-SCDs was higher in women in every age group. Proportion of I-SCDs started to increase rapidly in both sexes at the age of 40-44 years. In women aged 50-54 years 53% of the cases were I-SCDs. The gender difference in proportion of I-SCD was actually the smallest in age groups 40-49 years and after 70 years of age, and its largest in the middle in favor of men. (Figure 1).

After the age of 70 years the total amount of SCDs started to plateau in men and decrease in the amount of SCDs was seen in men after the age of 75 years as in women the plateau phase was not reached until the age of 80 years (Figure 2).

Conclusions: Minority of the SCDs occur under the age of 50 years, especially in women. The proportion of NI-SCD was higher in women than in men despite the age but the proportion of I-SCD was remarkable already at pre- and perimenopausal age. The amount of I-SCD increased in women until the age of 80 years emphasizing the need of early primary and secondary prevention of CAD also in women not only in men.