Table 1.
Characteristics of patients suffering SCA
| First myocardial infarction (n = 14) | Recurrent myocardial infarction (n = 5) | Primary arrhythmia (n = 6) | p value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men | 12 (86%) | 5 (100%) | 5 (83%) | nd |
| Women | 2 (14%) | 0 | 1 (17%) | |
| Age (median, years) | 52.5 (46.8–59.5) | 68.0 (58.0–77.5) | 73.5 (62.5–81.5) | 0.006 |
| BMI (mean ± SD, kg/m2) | 26.6 ± 3.9b | 26.4 ± 3.3c | 26.9 ± 4.3 | 0.017 |
| Symptoms prior to SCA | ||||
| Chest pain | 10 (71%) | 3 (60%) | 0 | nd |
| Dyspnea | 0 | 0 | 1 (17%) | |
| Asymptomatic | 0 | 2 (40%) | 4 (67%) | |
| Unknown | 4 (29%) | 0 | 1 (17%) | |
| ECG findings | ||||
| STEMI | 11 (79%) | 3 (60%) | 0 | nd |
| NSTEMI | 3 (21%) | 2 (40%) | 0 | |
| Infarct location | ||||
| Anterior wall | 10 (71%) | 3 (60%) | 0 | nd |
| Inferior wall | 3 (21%) | 1 (20%) | 0 | |
| Lateral wall | 1 (7%) | 1 (20%) | 0 | |
| TnT max (median, μg/L) | 4.55 (1.21–6.99) | 4.53 (2.61–11.99) | 0.16 (0.04–0.74) | 0.005 |
| Ejection fraction (median, %) | 58 (36–60)d | 35 (30–50) | 40 (20–43)e | ns |
| Coronary angiography | ||||
| Normal | 0 | 0 | 2 (33%) | nd |
| 1-vessel disease | 9 (64%) | 1 (20%) | 1 (17%) | |
| 2-vessel disease | 3 (21%) | 2 (40%) | 0 | |
| 3-vessel disease | 2 (14%) | 2 (40%) | 3 (50%) | |
| Coronary intervention | ||||
| LAD | 9 (64%) | 3 (60%) | 1 (17%) | nd |
| RCA | 2 (14%) | 1 (20%) | 1 (17%) | |
| CX | 3 (21%) | 1 (20%) | 0 | |
| Hypothermic treatment | 10 (71%) | 4 (80%) | 5 (83%) | nd |
| Implantation of ICD | 0 | 0 | 6 (100%) | nd |
| Death prior to discharge | 2 (14%) | 2 (40%) | 0 | nd |
| Previous history | ||||
| Angina pectoris | 3 (21%) | 0 | 1 (17%) | nd |
| Myocardial infarction | 0 | 5 (100%) | 5 (83%) | |
| Heart failure | 0 | 1 (20%) | 5 (83%)a | |
| Previous CABG | 0 | 1 (20%) | 2 (33%) | |
| Previous PTCA | 0 | 3 (60%) | 2 (33%) | |
| Hypertension | 4 (29%) | 2 (40%) | 4 (67%) | |
| Aortic stenosis | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Mitral insufficiency | 0 | 2 (40%) | 4 (67%) | |
| Diabetes mellitus | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Hypercholesterolemia | 10 (71%) | 3 (60%) | 2 (33%) | |
| Current smoking | 4 (29%) | 1 (20%) | 1 (17%) | |
| Ex-smoker | 6 (50%)d | 3 (75%)c | 4 (67%) | |
| Family history | 7 (70%)f | 2 (50%)c | 4 (67%) | |
| Medication prior to admission | ||||
| Beta-blocker | 1 (7%) | 1 (25%)c | 3 (50%) | nd |
| Ca-blocker | 1 (7%) | 1 (25%)c | 2 (33%) | |
| ACE/AT II-inhibitor | 1 (7%) | 2 (50%)c | 6 (100%) | |
| Diuretics | 1 (7%) | 0c | 6 (100%) | |
| ASA | 1 (7%) | 4 (100%)c | 0 | |
| Warfarin | 0 | 0c | 6 (100%) | |
| Statin | 2 (14%) | 3 (75%)c | 6 (100%) | |
| Antiarrhythmics | 0 | 0c | 0 | |
| Baseline blood samples (median) | ||||
| Hemoglobin (g/L) | 14.7 (13.5–15.8) | 14.0 (13.0–17.0) | 13.3 (11.1 15.1) | ns |
| Sodium (mmol/L) | 140 (136–142) | 143 (142–144) | 138 (136–144) | 0.045 |
| Calcium (mmol/L) | 4.0 (3.9–4.6) | 4.0 (3.8–4.6) | 3.5 (3.1–4.6) | ns |
| Creatinine (μmol/L) | 92 (80–115) | 110 (89–118) | 107 (81–154) | ns |
| Total-cholesterol (mmol/L) | 6.4 (4.8–6.9) | 3.8 (3.6–4.1) | 3.7 (2.9–5.1) | 0.014 |
| HDL-cholesterol (mmol/L) | 1.4 (1.0–1.7) | 1.3 (0.9–1.8) | 1.4 (0.7–1.8) | ns |
| Triglyceride (mmol/L) | 2.2 (1.0–3.2)g | 1.5 (0.6–1.7)h | 1.1 (1.0–1.4)h | ns |
| Glucose (mmol/L) | 15.1 (8.7–22.5)b | 12.0 (9.4 -18.9) | 13.8 (8.1 14.9)e | ns |
| hsCRP (mg/L) | 1.7 (1.1–3.1) | 1.8 (1.1–2.9) | 3.2 (2.3–28.3) | ns |
| Number of fish meals | ||||
| <1 × per month | 1 (11%)b | 0 | 0 | nd |
| 2–3 × per month | 4 (44%)b | 2 (100%)i | 3 (50%) | |
| 1 × per week | 2 (22%)b | 0 | 1 (17%) | |
| 2–3 × per week | 1 (11%)b | 0 | 2 (33%) | |
| >3 × per week | 1 (11%)b | 0 | 0 | |
| Omega-3 supplementation | ||||
| Cod-liver oil | 0b | 0h | 2 (33%) | nd |
| Fish-oil capsules | 1 (11%)b | 1 (33%)h | 1 (17%) | |
| Omega-3 index at admission (mean ± SD, %) | 4.59 ± 1.58 | 5.26 ± 1.59 | 7.15 ± 1.77 | 0.014 |
Categorical data are given as n (%). Median values of continuous data given with 25th and 75th percentiles in parentheses (interquartile range)
Nd no data, p values not available, too small groups to test for differences for categorical variables. ns not significant
ACE angiotensin converting enzyme, ASA acetylsalicylic acid, AT II angiotensin II receptor, BMI body mass index, CABG coronary artery bypass grafting, HDL high density lipoprotein, hsCRP high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, ICD implantable cardioverter defibrillator, LAD left anterior descending artery, RCA right coronary artery, CX circumflex, NSTEMI non-ST-elevation myocardial, PTCA percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty, SCA sudden cardiac arrest, SD standard deviation, STEMI ST-elevation myocardial infarction, TnT troponin-T
aFor one of the patients the diagnosis of dilated cardiomyopathy was first established after admission and this information is therefore not included in the baseline characteristics; b n = 9; c n = 4; d n = 12; e n = 5; f n = 10; g n = 13; h n = 3; i n = 2