ACTIVITY IMMEDIATELY BEFORE THE ONSET OF NONFATAL MYOCARDIAL-INFARCTION AND SUDDEN CARDIAC DEATH

To investigate triggers for the occurrence of acute myocardial infarct ion (AMI) and sudden cardiac death (SCD), we examined the activities i mmediately before the time of onset in 149 cases of non-fatal AMI and 110 cases of SCD. All of the cases in which death occurred within 24 h from the onset of the underlying cause were considered SCD as long as the cause of death was of cardiac origin or unknown. We calculated th e average time which is spent on each activity in the life cycle of Ja panese people and estimated the number of incidence of each activity a ssuming a uniform distribution. Estimated values and actual values wer e compared. The results were as follows: 1) The incidence of non-fatal AMI and SCD was low while sleeping or resting or doing light work, an d was high while using the toilet or doing sport or heavy work. 2) The incidence of SCD was also high even during moderate exertion, such as taking a bath or, walking or cycling, and it was significantly higher than that in the group of non-fatal AMI. 3) The incidence of non-fata l AMI was high while eating or drinking. 4) Many of the patients with SCD had past histories of circulatory diseases, compared to those with non-fatal AMI. This difference in past histories may account for the high incidence of SCD during moderate exertion.