Welcome to the POST SCD Research Study
Through collaboration with the San Francisco Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, we aim to better understand the causes of Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD) so we can prevent future cases
POST SCD Team at HRS
POST SCD Team members presented their abstracts at the Heart Rhythm Society 2025 Scientific Sessions.

Pictured: Brielle Kinkead, Kosuke Nakasuka, Zian Tseng, Jakrin Kewcharoen, and James Salazar
Traditional Definitions of Sudden Cardiac Death have Limited Accuracy
In our comprehensive, autopsy-defined county-wide surveillance of sudden cardiac death, we found that 40% of deaths attributed to stated cardiac arrest were not sudden or unexpected, and nearly 1/2 of presumed SCDs were not arrhythmic.
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How is Homelessness Associated with Sudden Death?
People experiencing homelessness in San Francisco County are 16 times more likely to die a sudden death than those who are housed.


Photo: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times
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About Us

We are a clinical research laboratory with a multidisciplinary team and collaborations with local and federal agencies to comprehensively characterize the burden, underlying causes, and risk factors of sudden cardiac death in our prototypic, diverse U.S. community.

Our NIH-funded San Francisco POstmortem Systematic InvesTigation of Sudden Cardiac Death (POST SCD) Study, a first of its kind partnership between cardiac electrophysiology specialists and the County Medical Examiner to perform comprehensive autopsies and antemortem medical history review for every incident out-of-hospital sudden death within the County of San Francisco. We use this information to adjudicate underlying causes for all SCDs. These rigorous investigations of nearly every incident SCD in an entire metropolitan area represent the most comprehensive study of its kind on the epidemiology and underlying causes of SCD.