Sudden Cardiac Death in Firefighters From the United States: A 16-Year Postmortem Analysis

Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is the leading cause of duty-related death among firefighters. Understanding postmortem cardiovascular abnormalities associated with SCD is critical to guiding fire service cardiovascular disease screening and prevention programs.

This study included US firefighters who had a duty-related death over a 16-year period (1999-2014) with available postmortem reports (autopsy/medical examiner reports). Cases were systematically reviewed to identify cases of SCD. For each SCD case, the primary etiology of SCD was adjudicated by experts in sports cardiology and cardiovascular pathology.

Postmortem evaluations were available for 794 of 2100 (37.8%) on-duty firefighter deaths over the study period (average age, 44±13 years; age range, 17-82 years; 4.0% women). A total of 312 of 794 (39.3%) firefighter deaths were adjudicated as SCD. A total of 255 of 312 (81.8%) SCD events were attributable to coronary artery disease/ischemic heart disease or hypertensive heart disease, which both are associated with traditional cardiovascular risk factors. The leading etiology of SCD among young firefighters (aged <40 years) was also coronary artery disease/ischemic heart disease (24/50 [48.0%]). Of firefighters who had an exertional SCD event thought to be secondary to coronary artery disease (n=97), a total of 62 of 91 (68.1%) had severe fixed coronary stenosis, while 29 of 91 (31.9%) demonstrated acute plaque rupture/thrombosis.

More than 80% of on-duty SCD events among US firefighters are due to coronary artery disease and hypertensive heart disease that may be prevented by early disease identification and risk factor modification. Future studies should assess the efficacy of more rigorous firefighter cardiovascular disease screening and management practices.