Sudden Cardiac Death: Know Who's at Risk

The more than 300,000 Americans who die suddenly each year account for about 20 percent of all deaths in this country.

Sudden cardiac death can often be prevented with an implantable defibrillator in people known to be at high danger. These include survivors of a heart attack, people with severe heart failure, and certain rare genetic abnormalities of the heart's electrical system. But defibrillators can't be implanted in everybody who might die suddenly.

Who is most likely to suffer a sudden death? A recent study from Germany has raised serious doubts about the common assumption that sudden death most often strikes unexpectedly and at random in apparently healthy men.

In a group of more than 400 victims of sudden death, the authors found that 40 percent of sudden deaths were in women whose average age was 76 years compared to 68 years among the men. About 67 percent of those who died suddenly had heart disease; all but 25 percent of them had suffered from prolonged symptoms like angina (chest pain), shortness of breath, dizziness, or nausea and vomiting in the period shortly before death.

Even though these clues do not make sudden death predictable, spouses and other relatives should be aware of these warning signs.

Studies also show that bystanders witness two-thirds of sudden death episodes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is attempted in less than 20 percent of these cases, and even less often in the 70 percent of sudden deaths that occur in the home.

These statistics underscore the need for relatives of people who are at high risk of sudden death to learn how to perform CPR. They need to be prepared to respond appropriately to an impending sudden death at home or to help someone in a public setting.

People who receive CPR from bystanders have a higher chance of surviving and being discharged from the hospital alive.

From yahoo health