Outcome of clinical management in relatives of sudden cardiac death victims.

BACKGROUND: International guidelines recommend clinical assessment of the surviving first-degree relatives of sudden cardiac death (SCD) victims to identify a probable cause of death and protect surviving relatives. Only few studies have reported the outcome of clinical management and follow-up of relatives to SCD victims.

METHODS: We performed a retrospective cohort study of the clinical and genetic assessment of surviving relatives of SCD victims referred to the Clinic of Inherited Cardiac Diseases at Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark, between 1995 and 2016. We studied clinical and autopsy findings on all cases of SCD among children and adults. Relatives were followed for adverse cardiovascular events including cardiac hospitalization, new-onset heart failure, coronary heart disease, malignant syncope or documented malignant ventricular arrhythmias, and death.

RESULTS: We included 292 relatives of 56 SCD victims. During a median (interquartile range) follow-up of 3.3 (1.6-4.7) years twelve relatives experienced an adverse cardiovascular event of which only five were related to the inherited cardiac disease in the family. One developed dilated cardiomyopathy and one tachycardia induced heart failure, five suffered from ventricular tachycardia or a malignant syncope and received a secondary prophylactic Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator, three had a coronary heart disease event and two died from old age.

CONCLUSION: Relatives of SCD victims have a low rate of adverse cardiac events when guideline-based assessment and care is applied.