Diurnal, weekly and seasonal variation of sudden death : Population-based analysis of 24 061 consecutive cases

Several studies have reported circadian and seasonal variations in acute cardiovascular disease. In addition, a weekly variation has been observed in acute myocardial infarction. The aim of our study was to determine the circadian weekly, and seasonal variations of sudden death utilizing population-based data. We analysed the emergency medical system data of Berlin (West) from 1987-1991 with respect to all consecutive sudden deaths in subjects >18 years (n=24 061). There was a marked circadian variation of sudden death, with a minimum between 0 and 6 h and a maximum between 6 and 12 h (P