ABSTRACT
Several studies have suggested a relationship between weather parameters and the occurrence of sudden cardiac death. The aim of this work was to study the impact of changes in temperature and humidity level on the occurrence of sudden cardiac death in the north of Tunisia. It's an autopsic study that included all victims of sudden cardiac death occurring in northern Tunisia between October 2010 and September 2012. The minimum, maximum and average of daily temperatures and humidity during the study period were recorded and compared with the monthly variation in the occurrence of sudden death. The study population included 392 men and 108 women with a mean age of 52.2 +/- 15.8 years. The highest rate of sudden death [37%] was observed at ambient temperatures below 15 degrees and only 4.2% of deaths occurred at temperatures above 30 degrees ambient temperatures [p <0.001]. Among the population aged over 60 years, the highest mortality rate [47.3%] were recorded at temperatures below 15 degrees, while 35.5% of young patients under 40 years died during periods with temperatures between 20 and 30 degrees and 56.8% of deaths occurred in the humidity levels between 60 and 78% . In the north of Tunisia where the climate is temperate, a temperature drop below 15 degrees was significantly associated with a sudden cardiac death. This excess winter cardiac mortality was more pronounced in the elderly