Sudden Cardiac Death
(Sudden Cardiac Arrest)

Medical Author: Benjamin C. Wedro, MD, FAAEM
Medical Editors: Daniel Kulick, MD, FACC, FSCAI, and Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD

• Introduction to sudden cardiac death
• What are the causes of sudden cardiac death?
• What about sudden cardiac death in the young?
• What are the symptoms of sudden cardiac arrest?
• How is sudden cardiac arrest diagnosed?
• What is the treatment for sudden cardiac arrest?
• Can sudden cardiac arrest be prevented?
• What is the prognosis sudden cardiac arrest?

Sudden Death in Athletes Medical Author: Benjamin C. Wedro, MD, FAAEM Medical Editor: Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD September 2007 - The risk of an athlete dying of a heart problem during exercise is little more than one in a million, but within the last month, three elite soccer players died while playing. Antonia Puerta had a heart attack in the middle of a game in front of a stadium full of fans in Seville, Italy, at the age of 22. Chaswe Nsofwa died while practicing in Israel, and Anton Reid, a 16-year-old professional soccer player, collapsed in the middle of a game in England. Young people aren't supposed to die. Young people aren't supposed to have heart attacks. Elite athletes are supposed to have finely tuned bodies that are the envy of every armchair quarterback in front of their television set. We tune in to see the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat, but not the morbidity of death. Every fall, the sports participation physical comes home with students, and parents grumble about having to see a doctor to get it filled out just to let their aspiring athlete suit up. The family doctor does a cursory check, signs the paper and everybody is good to go. But is there a better way? Read more about sudden cardiac death in sports » Top Searched Sudden Cardiac Death Terms: cardiac arrest symptoms, hypothermia, epinephrine, prevention, treatment, hereditary, definition of cardiac arrest, hyperkalemia

Introduction to sudden cardiac death

A natural disaster hits, the power goes off and the lights go out. It's a common scene that plays out during hurricane and tornado seasons, and it's very similar in trying to explain sudden cardiac death. The heart sustains an insult, the electricity is short circuited, the heart can't pump, and the body dies.

The heart is an electrical pump, where the electricity is generated in special pacemaker cells in the upper chamber, or atrium, of the heart. This electrical spark is carried through pathways in the heart so that all the muscle cells contract at once and produce a heart beat. This pumps blood through the heart valves and into all the organs of the body so that they can do their work.

This mechanism can break down in a variety of ways, but the final pathway in sudden death is the same: the electrical system is irritated and fails to produce electrical activity that causes the heart to beat. The heart muscle can't supply blood to the body, particularly the brain, and the body dies. Ventricular fibrillation (V Fib) is the most common reason for sudden death in patients. Without a coordinated electrical signal, the bottom chambers of the heart (ventricles) stop beating and instead, jiggle like Jello. Ventricular Fibrillation is treated with electrical shock, but for it to be effective, the shock usually needs to happen within less than four to six minutes, not only for it to be effective, but also to minimize brain damage from lack of blood and oxygen supply. Automatic external defibrillatorsr (AEDs) are commonly available in public places to allow almost anybody to treat sudden death. Less commonly, the heart can just stop beating. The absence of a heart beat is known as asystole (asystole: a=no + systole=beat).

From the Doctors at MedicineNet.com

Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG) - Read about the Electrocardiogram (ECG, EKG) procedure to test the electrical activity of the heart. Source:MedicineNet Echocardiogram - Information on Echocardiogram including why you would need one, the types of echocardiograms, how to prepare and what to expect. Source:WebMD Medical Reference from The Cleveland Clinic Implantable Cardiac Defibrillators - Source:MedicineNet Read 35 more Sudden Cardiac Death related articles ... Study Offers Clues to Link Between Arrhythmia, Sudden Death ADHD Drugs: Heart Screen Recommended Kidney Dysfunction Puts Women at Risk of Sudden Death Heart Attack: Living Alone Raises Heart Risk Gene Variants Can Predict Threat of Heart Disease Marathons May Cut Traffic Deaths