Coronary disease & ACSCohort study
Sudden Cardiac Death Due to Myocardial Infarction With Obstructive and Nonobstructive Coronary Arteries
- Prospective cohort study
- countywide
- autopsy-based
Authors' conclusion
In this 12-year countywide study, one-fourth of all sudden deaths and 41% of autopsy-confirmed SCDs were attributable to MI, with significant racial differences.
Study context
- Population
- Presumed community sudden cardiac deaths (SCDs) adjudicated by autopsy (POST SCD study), February 1, 2011, to March 31, 2023
- Participants
- 943 presumed SCDs
- Exposure
- MI-CAD vs myocardial infarction with nonobstructive coronary arteries (MINOCA)
- MI-CADn = 214
- MINOCAn = 23
- Outcome
- Burden of community SCD due to MI by histopathologic examination
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
SCD due to MI
- Noncardiac cause
- 360 (38%)
- Autopsy-confirmed SCDs
- 583 (62%)
- Autopsy-confirmed SCDs due to myocardial infarction (MI)
- 237 (41%)
- MI SCDs with MI-CAD
- 214 (90%)
- MI SCDs with acute MINOCA (highest proportion among Black patients)
- 23 (10%); P < 0.05
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Nonarrhythmic causes · acute MI-CAD
P = 0.037
- Nonarrhythmic causes — Trend toward highest in Asian patients
- P = 0.1
Coronary lesions in acute MI-CAD SCDs (n = 95; 173 lesions)
- Left anterior descending artery affected
- 66 [38%]
- Right coronary artery affected
- 59 [35%]
- Right coronary artery as culprit
- 43%
Total fibrosis burden
- Similar in MINOCA and acute MI-CAD SCDs
- P = 0.6
Original publication
Sudden Cardiac Death Due to Myocardial Infarction With Obstructive and Nonobstructive Coronary Arteries. J Am Coll Cardiol. Published 23 April 2026. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2026.01.030
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it