A 58-year-old man whom you have followed dies suddenly, spurring you into doing some research on sudden death. Which of the following is the most likely cause for this individual?

Sudden death, defined as death within 1 hour of onset of symptoms, is usually caused by cardiac disease in middle-aged and elderly patients, but in younger age groups noncardiac causes predominate. There is a bimodal distribution in the population, with the first peak before 6 months of age (sudden infant death syndrome). The most common coronary artery finding is extensive chronic coronary atherosclerosis, although acute syndromes do occur.