Sudden cardiac death in the People's Republic of China.

Data on the epidemiology of sudden cardiac death from several regions of the People's Republic of China are presented. The average annual incidence varied from 7.3 to 29.5 per 100,000, being greater in the north and north-east part of the country than in the south-east China. Ischaemic heart disease and acute myocardial infarction were the underlying causes in more than half of the autopsied cases of sudden cardiac death. In most cases, multiple severe stenoses of the coronary arteries were found.