Arrhythmias & electrophysiologyCohort study
Temporal trends of left ventricular function preceding sudden cardiac death
- population-based study
- consecutive autopsy-verified sudden cardiac death (SCD) victims
Authors' conclusion
The proportion of SCD cases with LVEF of ≤35% has significantly decreased in recent decades. Only a minority of modern-day SCD victims undergoing echocardiography are identified as being at high risk for SCD according to LVEF. Individualized risk assessment beyond LVEF measurement is needed to assess the risk of SCD.
Study context
- Population
- Autopsy-verified sudden cardiac death victims from Northern Finland between 1998 and 2017, with ischemic and nonischemic etiologiesconsecutive autopsy-verified SCD victims, pre-SCD LVEF available for 716
- Participants
- 5,869 victims
- Exposure
- temporal changes in LVEF over 2 decades among SCD victims
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Prevalence of severely reduced LVEF (≤ 35%) before SCD · entire study period and 5-year intervals
Unadjusted β
−5.6% per 5 years
95% CI −8.3% to −2.9%
P < 0.001
By group
- Prevalence during the entire study period
- 15.4% (110 subjects)
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Overall incidence of SCDs per capita and those with echocardiography · last 15 years
- remained essentially the same
Original publication
Temporal trends of left ventricular function preceding sudden cardiac death. Heart Rhythm. Published 13 August 2026. doi:10.1016/j.hrthm.2026.07.050
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it