Chronobiology of cardiac sudden death in men
S. W. Rabkin, F. A. Mathewson and R. B. Tate
Daily variation in occurrence of sudden cardiac death was examined in 3,983
men observed since 1948. For men without previous clinical evidence of
ischemic heart disease, an excess proportion of sudden cardiac deaths
occurred on Mondays. For men with previous clinical evidence of ischemic
heart disease, sudden cardiac death occurred more uniformly throughout the
week. By comparison there was no significant daily variation in cancer
mortality or in day of occurrence of myocardial infarction. Thus, for men
without clinically manifest heart disease, the warning "beware on Monday"
should stimulate further investigation.
