| Summary: | Introduction: Data on day of the week (septadian) variation of unexpected sudden cardiac death (SCD) are limited. Methods: We evaluated the incidence of unexpected SCD on different days of the week in a consecutive series of 5,869 SCD victims from Northern Finland [the Fingesture study (Finnish Genetic Study of Arrhythmic Events)]. A medico-legal autopsy was performed on all unexpected sudden death victims as it is mandatory in Finland. The autopsies were performed between the years 1998-2017. Results: The incidence of unexpected SCD in the region of Northern Finland with approximately 600,000 inhabitants on average was 55 per 100,000 inhabitants per year. The mean incidence of unexpected SCD was higher during the days form Friday to Sunday (peaking on Saturday) than during the days from Monday to Thursday (8.54±0.72 vs. 7.22±0.19 SCDs per day of the week per 100,000 inhabitants per year, p<0.001, respectively) (Figure 1). The number of unexpected SCD victims with alcohol in blood was higher during the days form Friday to Sunday (peaking on Saturday) than during the days from Monday to Thursday (Figure 2). Conclusion: The incidence of unexpected SCD was highest during the days form Friday to Sunday, peaking on Saturday. There was a similar distribution of the number of SCD victims with alcohol in blood during the days of the week, suggesting that alcohol drinking with its adverse influences contributes to the septadian variation of unexpected SCD.
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