More on Sudden Cardiac Death

[Guest guest]

Hi folks:

There are questions about whether good lipids data protect against

SCD. Here is some more information about it. It is not so sudden as

it is often advertised to be, apparently:

" How sudden is sudden cardiac death? "

BACKGROUND: Out-of-hospital sudden cardiac death (SCD) is a frequent

cause of death. Survival rates remain low despite increasing efforts

in medical care. Better understanding of the circumstances of SCD

could be helpful in developing preventive measures and facilitating

proper reactions to such a pending event.

METHODS AND RESULTS: Information on cases of out-of-hospital SCD was

collected in the Berlin, Germany, emergency medical system via a

questionnaire. Bystander interviews were performed by the emergency

physician on scene immediately after declaration of death or return

of circulation. Of 5831 rescue missions, 406 involved patients with

presumed cardiac arrest. Sixty-six percent had a known cardiac

disease. In 72%, the arrest occurred at home, and in 67%, it occurred

in the presence of an eyewitness.

Information on symptoms immediately preceding the arrest was

available in 80% (n = 323) of all 406 patients and in 274 of those

with witnessed arrest. Symptoms were identical in the 2 groups.

Typical angina was present for a median of 120 minutes in 25% of the

274 patients with witnessed arrest and in 33% with a symptom duration

of less than 1 hour.

CONCLUSIONS: SCD occurs most often at home in the presence of

relatives and after a longer period of typical warning symptoms.

Although the much-hailed use of public access defibrillation is

supported by several studies, the present results raise the question

of whether educational measures and targeted educational programs

tailored for patients at risk and their relatives should have a

higher priority.

PMID: 16952983

Rodney.