Krexi D, et al. – The purpose of this study is to figure out the causes of sudden cardiac death amid pregnancy and in the postpartum period and patients' characteristics. This study features sudden cardiac death in pregnancy or in the postpartum period, which is mainly because of sudden arrhythmic death syndrome (SADS) with underlying channelopathies and cardiomyopathy. Authors wish to raise awareness of these frequently under–recognised entities in maternal deaths and the need for cardiological screening of the family as a result of the diagnosis.

Methods

• In this study, total 80 cases of sudden unexpected death because of cardiac causes in connection to pregnancy and postpartum period in a database of 4678 patients were found and analyzed macroscopically and microscopically.

Results

• In this study, the mean age was 30 ± 7 years with a range from 16 to 43 years.
• Around 30% were 35 years old or older; 50% of deaths occurred amid pregnancy and 50% amid the postpartum period.
• About 59.18% were obese or overweight where body mass index data were available.
• The leading causes of death were sudden arrhythmic death syndrome (SADS) (53.75%) and cardiomyopathies (13.80%).
• Other causes include dissection of aorta or its branches (8.75%), congenital heart disease (2.50%) and valvular disease (3.75%).