Obesity in young sudden cardiac death: Rates, clinical features, and insights into people with body mass index >50kg/m2

Abstract

Objective: To contextualize obesity rates in young sudden cardiac death (SCD) against the age-matched national population, and identify clinical and pathologic features in WHO class II and III obesity. Methods: A prospective state-wide out-of-hospital cardiac arrest registry included all SCDs in Victoria, Australia from 2019–2021. Body mass indices (BMIs) of patients 18-50 years were compared to age-referenced general population. Characteristics of SCD patients with WHO Class II obesity (BMI ≥30kg/m2) and non-obesity (BMI50kg/m2 were assessed. Results: 504 patients were included. Obesity was strongly over-represented in young SCD compared to the age-matched general population (55.0% vs 28.7%, p50 kg/m2 represented 8.5% of young SCD. LVH (n=26, 60.5%) was their predominant cause of death and only 10 (9.3%) patients died from coronary disease. Conclusion: Over half of young Australian SCD patients are obese, with all obesity classes over-represented compared to the general population. Obese patients had more cardiac risk factors. Almost two thirds of patients with BMI>50 kg/m2 died from LVH, with fewer than 10% dying from coronary disease.

Keywords

• Obesity
• Extreme obesity
• Sudden cardiac death
• Cardiomyopathy