scholarly journals Sudden Cardiac Death

Author(s):  
Omar Elsaka

Background: Sudden cardiac death (SCD) remains a major open clinical and public health problem, with an estimated 300,000 deaths per year in the United States. The possibility of identifying potential SCD victims is limited by the large size of the large number of SCD victims and the apparent time-dependent risk of sudden death. The latter refers to the tendency of SCDs to detect other cardiovascular events during the most dangerous period of 6–18 months following a major cardiovascular event and the risk of subsequent collapse. The combination of time and lake size provides the basis for future research to find more vulnerable people. Pathologically, SCD can be seen as an interaction between some electrophysiological events that causes abnormalities in cardiac structure, temporal dysfunction, and malignant arrhythmias. Structural deformities represent an anatomical matrix of chronic risk and include the effects of electrophysiological anatomical abnormalities such as coronary artery disease, left ventricular hypertrophy, myopathic ventricles, and bypass leaflets in the myocardium. Conclusion: Macroscopic cardiac features are common in about one-third of young SCD victims. However, in 79% of them, histological studies reveal hidden pathological features such as local myocarditis, heart disease and motor system disorders. A total of 16 (6%) victims had no evidence of systemic heart disease and the mechanism of SCD was not described.

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Jacques Monsuez ◽  
Marilucy Lopez-Sublet

: Persons living with HIV infection (PLWH) have been recognized to have an increased risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD). Prevention of this risk should theoretically be included in their long-term management. However, only a few approaches have been proposed to optimize such interventions. Targeting detection of the commonly associated conditions such as coronary artery disease, left ventricular dysfunction, heart failure, QT interval prolongation and ventricular arrhythmias is the first step of this prevention. However, although detection of the risk of SCD is a suitable challenge in PLWH, it remains uncertain whether optimized treatment of the identified risks would unequivocally translate into a decrease in SCD rates.


2009 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 356-365
Author(s):  
Brenda S. Thompson

Ischemic heart disease and dilated cardiomyopathy are among the most common cardiovascular disease processes associated with heart failure that can lead to lethal arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death (SCD). With the increasing incidence of heart failure in the United States, many patients are now at risk for SCD. Nurses should understand the pathophysiology, current treatment guidelines, and the rationale for these therapies to effectively manage systolic dysfunction and to mitigate the risk of SCD. Nurses are more involved than ever with this patient population and play a key role as members of the heart failure disease management team. As a result, nurses are uniquely positioned to improve survival and reduce SCD in individuals diagnosed with left ventricular dysfunction. The purpose of this article is to increase the awareness of the risk of sudden death in patients with left ventricular dysfunction. Current evidence-based practice guidelines with rationale are reviewed.


2013 ◽  
Vol 304 (12) ◽  
pp. H1697-H1707 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew F. Pizzuto ◽  
Gen Suzuki ◽  
Michael D. Banas ◽  
Brendan Heavey ◽  
James A. Fallavollita ◽  
...  

Many survivors of sudden cardiac death (SCD) have normal global ventricular function and severe coronary artery disease but no evidence of symptomatic ischemia or infarction before the development of lethal ventricular arrhythmias, and the trigger for ventricular tachycardia (VT)/ventricular fibrillation (VF) remains unclear. We sought to identify the role of spontaneous ischemia and temporal hemodynamic factors preceding SCD using continuous telemetry of left ventricular (LV) pressure and the ECG for periods up to 5 mo in swine ( n = 37) with hibernating myocardium who experience spontaneous VT/VF in the absence of heart failure or infarction. Hemodynamics and ST deviation at the time of VT/VF were compared with survivors with hibernating myocardium as well as sham controls. All episodes of VT/VF occurred during sympathetic activation and were initiated by single premature ventricular contractions, and the VT degenerated into VF in ∼ 30 s. ECG evidence of ischemia was infrequent and no different from those that survived. Baseline hemodynamics were no different among groups, but LV end-diastolic pressure during sympathetic activation was higher at the time of SCD (37 ± 4 vs. 26 ± 4 mmHg, P < 0.05) and the ECG demonstrated QT shortening (155 ± 4 vs. 173 ± 5 ms, P < 0.05). The week before SCD, both parameters were no different from survivors. These data indicate that there are no differences in the degree of sympathetic activation or hemodynamic stress when VT/VF develops in swine with hibernating myocardium. The transiently elevated LV end-diastolic pressure and QT shortening preceding VT/VF raises the possibility that electrocardiographically silent subendocardial ischemia and/or mechanoelectrical feedback serve as a trigger for the development of SCD in chronic ischemic heart disease.


2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neil T Srinivasan ◽  
Richard J Schilling ◽  
◽  

Sudden cardiac death (SCD) and arrhythmia represent a major worldwide public health problem, accounting for 15–20 % of all deaths. Early resuscitation and defibrillation remains the key to survival, yet its implementation and the access to public defibrillators remains poor, resulting in overall poor survival to patients discharged from hospital. Novel approaches employing smart technology may provide the solution to this dilemma. Though the majority of cases are attributable to coronary artery disease, a thorough search for an underlying cause in cases where the diagnosis is unclear is necessary. This enables better management of arrhythmia recurrence and screening of family members. The majority of cases of SCD occur in patients who do not have traditional risk factors for arrhythmia. New and improved large scale screening tools are required to better predict risk in the wider population who represent the majority of cases of SCD.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nabil El-Sherif ◽  
Mohamed Boutjdir ◽  
Gioia Turitto

Sudden cardiac death accounts for approximately 360,000 annually in the United States and is the cause of half of all cardiovascular deaths. Ischemic heart disease is the major cause of death in the general adult population. Sudden cardiac death can be due to arrhythmic or non-arrhythmic cardiac causes, for example, myocardial rupture. Arrhythmic sudden cardiac death may be caused by ventricular tachyarrhythmia (ventricular tachycardia/ventricular fibrillation) or pulseless electrical activity/asystole. The majority of research in risk stratification centers on ventricular tachyarrhythmias simply because of the availability of a successful management strategy, the implantable cardioverter/ defibrillator. Currently the main criterion of primary defibrillator prophylaxis is the presence of organic heart disease and depressed left ventricular systolic function assessed as left ventricular ejection fraction. However, only one third of eligible patients benefit from the implantable defibrillator, resulting in significant redundancy in the use of the device. The cost to the health care system of sustaining this approach is substantial. Further, the current low implantation rate among eligible population probably reflects a perceived low benefit-to-cost ratio of the device. Therefore, attempts to optimize the selection process for primary implantable defibrillator prophylaxis are paramount. The present report will review the most recent pathophysiology and risk stratification strategies for sudden cardiac death beyond the single criterion of depressed ejection fraction. Emphasis will be placed on electrophysiological surrogates of conduction disorder, dispersion of repolarization, and autonomic imbalance, which represent our current understanding of the electrophysiological mechanisms that underlie the initiation of ventricular tachyarrhythmias. Further, factors that modify arrhythmic death, including noninvasive risk variables, biomarkers, and genomics will be addressed. These factors may have great utility in predicting sudden cardiac arrhythmic death in the general public.


2021 ◽  
Vol 28 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
F D"ascenzi ◽  
F Valentini ◽  
S Pistoresi ◽  
F Frascaro ◽  
P Pietro ◽  
...  

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Introduction. The etiology of sudden cardiac death (SCD) in young people is still debated. The aim of this meta-analysis was to identify the most frequent causes of SCD in individuals aged ≤35 years, the differences between athletes and nonathletes and among geographic areas. Methods.  Studies published between 01/01/1990 and 01/31/2020 and evaluating post-mortem the etiology of SCD in young individuals (≤35 years) were included. Individuals were divided in athletes and nonathletes. Studies that did not report separately data between athletes and nonathletes were excluded. Results. Thirty-four studies met the inclusion criteria and a total population of 5,060 victims of SCD were analysed (2,890 athletes, 2,170 nonathletes). Structurally normal heart, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), idiopathic left ventricular hypertrophy, and anomalous origin of coronary arteries (AOCA) were the most frequent causes of SCD in athletes while coronary artery disease (CAD), arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM), and channelopathies were frequent causes of SCD in nonathletes. The number of SCDs due to ischemic heart disease (19.6% vs. 9.1%, p = 0.009), ACM (11.5% vs. 4.7%, p = 0.03) and channelopathies (8.4% vs. 1.9%, p = 0.02) was higher in nonathletes comparing with athletes. SCD due to non-ischemic left ventricular scar (5.1% vs. 1.1%, p = 0.01) was more frequent in athletes. HCM (p = 0.01) and AOCA (p = 0.004) were more frequently cause of SCD in US while ACM (p = 0.001), structurally normal heart (p = 0.02), and channelopathies (p = 0.02) in Europe. Conclusions. Structurally normal heart, HCM, AOCA were frequent causes of SCD in athletes while CAD, ACM and channelopathies in nonathletes. The causes of SCD differ between US and Europe.


Diagnostics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 1781
Author(s):  
Laura Ross ◽  
Elizabeth Paratz ◽  
Murray Baron ◽  
André La Gerche ◽  
Mandana Nikpour

Cardiac disease is a leading cause of death in systemic sclerosis (SSc) and sudden cardiac death (SCD) is thought to occur more commonly in SSc than in the general population. Diffuse myocardial fibrosis, myocarditis and ischaemic heart disease are all prevalent in SSc and can be reasonably hypothesised to contribute to an increased risk of SCD. Despite this, SCD remains a relatively understudied area of SSc with little understood about SSc-specific risk factors and opportunities for primary prevention. In this review, we present an overview of the possible mechanisms of SCD in SSc and our current understanding of how each of these mechanisms may contribute to cardiac death. This review highlights the need for a future research agenda that addresses the underlying epidemiology of SCD in SSc and identifies opportunities for intervention to modify the disease course of heart disease in SSc.


Author(s):  
Hans-Richard Arntz

Even if sudden cardiac death is considered to be the most frequent cause of death in adults in industrialized countries, its incidence varies widely, depending on the definition and the source and quality of underlying data. It is estimated that about 70-80% of cases are due to coronary heart disease. The remaining 20% are attributable to a wide variety of inborn, genetically determined or acquired diseases, including a small group with hitherto undefined background. Prevention primarily encompasses the treatment of cardiovascular risk factors to avoid manifestations of coronary heart disease. Furthermore, preventive strategies are targeted to define groups of patients with an increased risk for sudden cardiac death or individuals at risk in specific populations, e.g. competitive athletes. A major target group are patients with impaired left ventricular function, preferentially due to myocardial infarction. These patients, and some less clearly defined patient groups with non-ischaemic cardiomyopathy and heart failure, may benefit from the insertion of an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator. With regard to pharmacological prevention, treatment of the underlying condition is the mainstay, since no antiarrhythmic substance-with the exemption of beta-blockers in some situations-has shown to be of efficacy.


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