Epidemiology of Sudden Cardiac Death: Necropsic Studies at Aristide Le Dantec Hospital

Introduction: Sudden cardiac death (SCD) remains a major public health issue. In Senegal, there is a lack of data on this phenomenon; this underlies the relevance of this study whose objective is to study the epidemiological profile of victims experiencing unrecovered sudden cardiac arrest at Aristide LE DANTEC Hospital. Patients and Methods: This is a transverse study with retrospective data collection from January 1, 2016 to January 31, 2017. Included, in the study were all victims of sudden cardiac death in Dakar who had a necropsy in the morgues of Aristide Le Dantec Hospital. Results: We recorded 69 cases of sudden death of cardiovascular origin from 169 forensic autopsy reports, or 40.8% of autopsies. The average age was 44 years with a male predominance in 76.81%. The large majority of death occurred at home (26%), without witnesses (48%) and at rest (36%). Two cases of sudden death, or 3%, occurred at exertion. These deaths were recorded in 16% of cases in the middle of the day. The highest death rate was recorded during the month of December (15.9%). Malaise was the predominant symptom (13%) followed by emotional stress (6%). The existence of a history could only be clarified in 4% of cases. The electrocardiogram was only performed in 1 case. At necropsy, ischemic heart disease was the leading disease (46%), 26% of which was due to myocardial infarction, followed by hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (16%) and mixed cardiomyopathy (13%). Tamponade, dilated cardiomyopathy and aortic dissection were found in 9%, 6% and 4% of cases, respectively. Conclusion: Sudden cardiac death is a major public health problem. In the Senegalese population, victims of unrecovered SCD are relatively young with a predominance of men. Coronary artery disease is the most frequently implicated pathology. Faced with this observation, a national program for the integrated control of cardiovascular risk factors is necessary.