Sudden Cardiac Death and Coronary Artery Disease —Pathophysiology and Risk Stratification †

Management of Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD) is undergoing a radical change in direction. It is becoming increasingly appreciated that besides depressed left ventricular systolic function and the conventional risk stratification tools, new markers for plaque vulnerability, enhanced thrombogenesis, specific genetic alterations of the autonomic nervous system, cardiac sarcolemmal and contractile proteins, and familial clustering may better segregate patients with atherosclerotic coronary artery disease who are at high risk for SCD from those who may suffer from nonfatal ischemic events. Better understanding of pathophysiological processes, such as postmyocardial infarction remodeling, the transition from compensated hypertrophy to heart failure, and the increased cardiovascular risk of coronary artery disease in the presence of diabetes or even a prediabetic state will help to improve both risk stratification and management. The rapidly developing fields of microchips technology and proteomics may allow rapid and cost-effective mass screening of multiple risk factors for SCD. The ultimate goal is to identify novel methods for risk stratification, risk modification, and prevention of SCD that could be applied to the general public at large.