189 Cases Of Sudden Cardiac Death In Xinjiang, China: An Autopsy Study

Objective: To analyze the clinical autopsy reports of 189 cases of SCD that occurred between 2006 and 2013 in the Xinjiang. Methods: This retrospective study was conducted to analyze the clinical autopsy reports of 189 cases of SCD that occurred between 2006 and 2013 at the Xinjiang Xin-Yi Forensic Identification Center. The aim of this study was to investigate the etiology, age distribution, and the clinical and pathological features of SCD in order to provide empirical evidence for the prevention of SCD in the Xinjiang region. Results: Of the 189 cases of sudden death, the youngest individual was one year old, while the oldest was 84 years old. The average age was 46.34 years. Of the 189 cases of SCD, 66 cases had definite predisposing causes and accounted for 34.92% of the total number of cases. Some of the 189 cases of SCD exhibited warning signs before death. The warning signs included chest tightness, dyspnea, cyanosis, nausea. The autopsies revealed that the main causes of SCD included atherosclerotic coronary artery disease(CAD), Aortic dissection,pulmonary embolisim viral cardiomyopathy hypertrophic cardiomyopathy,and congenital heart disease. Of these diseases, CAD accounted for 148(78.3%) cases of SCD. Among the 148 cases of SCD caused by CAD, grade III-IV stenosis(≥75% stenosis of the coronary artery diameter) was present in 138 cases and accounted for 93.2% of all cases; grade I-II stenosis(stenosis <75% of the coronary artery diameter) was present in 10 cases and accounted for 6.8% of all cases. The causes of SCD may vary among different age groups. CAD and aortic dissection represented the highest proportions in the 35- to 60-year age group. Conclusion: This study has determined that CAD and aortic dissection are the major causes of SCD in the Xinjiang region and that most of the CAD-initiated SCD cases occur in the old age group.