A survey of the causes of sudden death in sport in the Republic of Ireland

Background-Sudden death in sport is rare, but when it occurs the effects ar e devastating. There have not been any reports to date describing the frequ ency and causes of sudden death in sport in the Republic of Ireland. Aim-To describe the incidence, possible causes, associated factors, and pat hological findings in people who died while exercising in the Republic of I reland in the 10 year period from January 1987 to December 1996. Methods-All 49 regional coroners in the Republic of Ireland were approached and details on all cases of sudden death in sport from 1 January 1987 to 3 1 December 1996 were requested. A questionnaire was used to document age, s ex, participating sport, previous symptoms, previous medical investigations , circumstances of death, and main pathological finding in all reported cas es. Results-Of the 49 coroners surveyed, 45 replied. A total of 51 cases of sud den death in sport were identified. The median age was 48 (range 15-78). Fi fty of the deaths were of men. Golf was the most popular participating spor t. In 42 cases, the pathological cause of death was atherosclerotic coronar y artery disease. Conclusions-This is the first time the incidence of sudden death in sport i n the Republic of Ireland has been described. The main cause of death in al l age groups was atherosclerotic coronary artery disease.