Abstract: Objective To investigate the characteristics and influencing factors leading to sudden cardiac death （SCD） of incarcerated prisoners. Methods Seventy-five SCD cases of prisoners between 2000 and 2013 in Henan province were collected, and environment, psychological and physical factors were retrospectively analyzed. Combined with histopathological results, specific factors of SCD were also studied. Results In the 75 cases, 21 cases （28%） had definite chronic past medical histories, and 75 cases （100%） had cardiovascular disease confirmed by autopsy. Conclusion Due to presence of the potential cardiac diseases, special incarcerated environment, psychological stress, and body-restraint might be the precipitating factors in SCD of those prisoners.

Key words: forensic pathology, death, sudden, cardiac, incarcerated prisoners