Table 2.

Strongest risk factors for sudden cardiac death among asymptomatic men

	Hazard ratioa	95% CI	P-value
Cigarette smoking (per 10 pack-years)b	1.31	1.18–1.46	<0.001
Systolic blood pressure (per 10 mmHg)	1.24	1.10–1.40	0.001
Body mass index (per 5 kg/m2)	1.42	1.00–2.03	0.050
Maximal oxygen uptake (per 100 mL/min)c	0.95	0.90–1.00	0.052
Asymptomatic ST-depression during exercise (yes vs. no)	2.12	1.15–3.90	0.016

^aHazard ratios are adjusted also for age, alcohol consumption, diabetes, C-reactive protein, and serum low- and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in a forced multivariable Cox model. Sudden cardiac death was defined when the arrest have occurred within 24 h after onset of any symptoms.

^bPack-years denotes the lifelong exposure to smoking that was estimated as the product of years smoked and the number of tobacco products smoked daily at the time of examination.

^cExercise capacity was measured directly during exercise test using a respiratory gas analyser.