PATHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF SUDDEN DEATH IN THE MEDITERRANEAN AREA

Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is the most important challenge of modern cardiology. As in present times it can be prevented and the knowl-edge of pathological mechanisms as well as the correlation between SCD and associated diseases and risk factors is crucial. There is a great geo-graphical variety in the incidence of SCD and ischemic heart disease (IHD) as its main under-lying cause with lower incidence of IHD and SCD episodes in Mediterranean countries. However, although the incidence of SCD in Spain is one of the lowest in the industrialized countries, a recent-ly published study has demonstrated that the incidence of atherosclerotic plaques in young people detected at autopsy is unexpectedly high