{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,16]],"date-time":"2026-09-16T15:26:17Z","timestamp":1789572377018,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":57,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,25]],"date-time":"2024-07-25T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1721865600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Diseases"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is a major public health concern worldwide, affecting all age and social groups. Methods: In this retrospective study, of the 8265 autopsies performed in the Institute of Legal Medicine, 1618 cases of SCD were included. The aim of this study is to identify demographic characteristics, etiological factors, epidemiological characteristics and risk factors that lead to SCD. Results: The highest incidence of SCD was in age group 40\u201369 years (65.0%), 71.6% of this age group being men. Of the total number, 32.1% (520) occurred in the emergency room. The most common cause of sudden death is represented by coronary atherosclerotic disease, reported in 89.8% (1453) of cases, tricoronary lesions being found in 60% (870) of cases. Etiological factors of SCD encountered during autopsies were acute myocardial infarction in 13.9% (225), dilated cardiomyopathy 43.9% (710), cardiac hypertrophy 579 (36.07%), pericarditis 1.9% (30), myocarditis 1.73% (28) and adipositas cordis 5% (81). Along with epicardial fat and BMI, alcohol consumption was recorded in 17.9% (290), this being a potential trigger. Conclusions: Based on forensic autopsy and histological findings, a wide variety of factors are involved in the etiopathogenesis of SCD, some of which can be eliminated through preventive measures implemented early.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/diseases12080168","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,25]],"date-time":"2024-07-25T06:11:36Z","timestamp":1721887896000},"page":"168","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":9,"title":["Sudden Cardiac Death-Etiology, Risk Factors and Demographic Characteristics: An Extensive Study of 1618 Forensic Autopsies"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"12","author":[{"given":"Ioana","family":"Radu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Doctoral School of Medicine and Pharmacy, George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science and Technology of Targu Mures, 540142 Targu Mures, Romania"},{"name":"Department of Forensic Medicine Emergency County Hospital, \u201cConstantin Opri\u0219\u201d Baia Mare, 430031 Baia Mare, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anca Otilia","family":"Farcas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Doctoral School of Medicine and Pharmacy, George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science and Technology of Targu Mures, 540142 Targu Mures, Romania"},{"name":"Department of Cell Biology, George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science and Technology of Targu Mures, 540139 Targu Mures, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Victoria","family":"Nyulas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Informatics and Medical Biostatistics, George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science and Technology of Targu Mures, 540139 Targu Mures, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6253-9309","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Carmen Corina","family":"Radu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Forensic Medicine, 540141 Targu Mures, Romania"},{"name":"Department of Forensic Medicine, George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science and Technology of Targu Mures, 540139 Targu Mures, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Klara","family":"Brinzaniuc","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Anatomy, George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science and Technology of Targu Mures, 540139 Targu Mures, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,25]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"6","DOI":"10.1016\/j.hlc.2018.08.026","article-title":"Epidemiology of Sudden Cardiac Death: Global and Regional Perspectives","volume":"28","author":"Wong","year":"2019","journal-title":"Heart Lung Circ."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1642","DOI":"10.1093\/eurheartj\/ehu176","article-title":"Risk stratification for sudden cardiac death: Current status and challenges for the future","volume":"35","author":"Wellens","year":"2014","journal-title":"Eur. 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