The risk factors for arrhythmic death in a sample of men followed for 20 years.

In a sample of 301 men, aged 54-62 years, who were employed in the telephone industry in New Jersey, and who were followed prospectively from 1963/1964 to 1984, 65 of 148 deaths were manifested by the abrupt occurrence of fatal ventricular arrhythmias. On multivariate analysis, the factors present at the initial examination that were significantly related to the subsequent occurrence of arrhythmic deaths were: abnormal patterns of QRS conduction; the level of blood pressure; the number of cigarettes currently being smoked; chronic myocardial ischemia; chronic airway disease; and failure to engage in any exercise or heavy physical activity. Among 28 other potential risk factors representing myocardial disorders, ventricular dysrhythmias, other disorders of cardiac rate, rhythm, conduction, and repolarization, and non-cardiac risk factors (including cholesterol level, serum uric acid level, diabetes mellitus, alcohol intake, general arteriosclerosis, other non-cardiac disease, and social, behavioral, and attitudinal variables), none significantly added to risk for arrhythmic death. The risk factors related to the subsequent occurrence of other deaths, manifested by the gradual development of circulatory failure, were significantly different from the risk factors related to arrhythmic deaths.