Abstract: The expression of VEGF in myocardium of the heart of sudden coronary death (SCD; n=16) and of the control group (n=15) was studied quantitatively by immunohistochemistry SABC method, image analysis and statistical process. The results showed that local infarcted myocardium of the heart from all SCD had strong positive expression of VEGF, especially in peri-infarction area. The rate of positive expression was 100%, while only two of the 15 in control group had mild positive expression sparsely in local myocardium. Image analysis and statistical process showed that the positive index in SCD group was 13.68±2.73, and in the control group 2.05±0.84. There was a significant difference between the two groups (P< 0.01). The results suggested that the immunohistochemical staining of VEGF with image analysis and statistical process be used as an objective marker for the postmortem diagnosis of SCD.

Key words: sudden coronary death, vascular endothelial growth factor, Immunohistochemistry