Ambulatory electrocardiographic findings in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest secondary to coronary artery disease

Sudden death is a frequent cause of mortality worldwide, affecting people with either known or unknown heart disease. Coronary artery disease is its most common etiology. 1 The causal mechanisms of sudden death have become better understood with the study of animal models 2 and patients resuscitated from cardiac arrest. 3,4 Patients in whom an electrocardiographic recording is available at the time of death offer valuable information, but are scarce. 5–18 We present data from 8 patients with coronary artery disease in whom out-of-hospital cardiac arrest was documented by ambulatory electrocardiographic recording.