Introduction:

much has been described in the global literature about Sudden Cardiac Death, but few reliable data is available in Uruguay. More than half of the cases of sudden death in this age group arise from a cardiac etiology.

Objective:

to analyze sudden death in pediatric populations by studying sudden death cases (including frustrated or aborted deaths) referred to by colleagues involved in their assessment, as they happened over time. We studied the existence of cardiac pathologies in patients and their close relatives and evaluated prevention mechanisms.

Results:

95 cases were studied, 68% males, aged between 6 months and 18 years. In 65% of the cases, we were able to find a cardiac etiology responsible for the event, in two thirds of the cases it was a structural cardiac pathology, and in the remaining third it was a canalopathy or arrhythmia. There was a family history of sudden death in 50% of cases. Of these cases, 35% showed a potential etiology that caused the sudden death.

Conclusions:

sudden death in children is a real fact. We do not know its incidence in Uruguay. Cardiac etiology played a significant role in the cases studied. Therefore, we should be able to detect situations of risk of a sudden death event prior to its appearance and if it occurred, we should be able to prevent the necessary mechanisms to reverse it.

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