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Sudden Cardiac Death in Multi-Ethnic Populations

  • Race and Ethnic Disparities (M. Albert, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD) varies greatly by ethnicity, and is particularly high in African Americans as compared to Caucasians. The reasons for these racial differences are unclear but are likely multifactorial. Possible differences in coronary and non-coronary risk factors, socioeconomic factors, and genetic factors should all be considered when investigating this observed racial disproportionality in SCD risk. Furthermore, there is a relative paucity of data on the risk of SCD in non-African American minorities, including Asian Americans and Latinos. In this paper, we will review traditional and contemporary data describing these racial differences and potential explanations for them. A careful examination of the racial differences in SCD risk can not only assist in identifying high risk populations and those who may be targeted for early intervention, but can also provide insight into the pathophysiologic mechanisms of SCD.

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Conflict of Interest

Dr. Narla has no conflicts of interest.

Dr. Tseng reports grants from NIH/NHLBI, grants CDC, Grants from NIH, during the conduct of this study.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by the author.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Section of Cardiac Electrophysiology, Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, University of California-San Francisco, Box 1354, 500 Parnassus Avenue, Milberry Union East, Room 433, San Francisco, CA, 94143-1354, USA

    Venkata Narla & Zian H. Tseng

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  1. Venkata Narla
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  2. Zian H. Tseng
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Correspondence to Zian H. Tseng.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Race and Ethnic Disparities

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Narla, V., Tseng, Z.H. Sudden Cardiac Death in Multi-Ethnic Populations. Curr Cardiovasc Risk Rep 10, 27 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12170-016-0506-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12170-016-0506-5

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