Sudden cardiac death - Quick second heart death usually affects certain people

Study: Risk of sudden cardiac death in men is twice as high
In men, the risk of sudden cardiac death is at least twice that of women. This is shown by a new study from the USA, which examined the lifetime risk for the so-called "second heart death".

Secondary death in people who were healthy
The term "second heart death" (or even second death or sudden cardiac death) describes the sudden onset of fatal cardiac arrhythmia, often in people who were actually healthy after own and foreign perception. It has long been known that sudden cardiac death occurs more frequently in athletes than in non-athletes. Even in children, sudden cardiac death is known in sports.

Sudden cardiac death usually occurs without warning. Sometimes the so-called second death is also announced. The risk for men is twice as high as for women. (Image: chalabala / fotolia.com)

Risk factors for sudden cardiac death
It is already known that sudden cardiac arrest in the elderly is usually the result of a heart attack with massive cardiac arrhythmias, while in younger people often infections that extend to the heart muscle are the cause of the secondary death.

Scientists at the Berlin Charité recently reported on a large-scale international study that could lead to a new risk assessment for sudden cardiac death. According to the report, meaningful risk factors should be identified by means of "genetic tests, blood tests and modern imaging techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)".

Lifetime risk investigated
For the first time, US researchers have investigated the lifetime risk of second-death. To do so, they evaluated the long-term data of patients who had previously participated in the large-scale Framingham Heart Study (FHS). The scientists had identified common risk factors (blood pressure, cholesterol, smoking and diabetes) as well as a comparison between men and women. The study results were published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Danger for men twice as high
Researchers analyzed the data from 2,785 women and 2,294 men who had their initial study for FHS between 1948 and 2001, and who had no previous cardiovascular disease history by that time. As expected, the lifetime risk of sudden cardiac death among all study participants increased with the number of risk factors. In each of the age groups analyzed (45, 55, 65 and 75 years) men with two or more risk factors had a risk of at least 12 percent.

Blood pressure is crucial
About every eighth man was affected. The majority of deaths occurred before the age of 70 years. Women, however, had a significantly lower lifetime risk of sudden cardiac death. At up to six percent, it was only about half as high. Blood pressure proved to be crucial for the life-time risk for both genders and all age groups. Accordingly, the highest lifetime risk of sudden cardiac death was 16.3% for men in the group of 45-year-olds whose blood pressure levels exceeded 160/100 mmHg.

Often without warning
Usually comes a sudden cardiac death without warning. But some patients announce the event. For example, chest pain, palpitations, shortness of breath or dizziness may indicate an impending second-death. Such symptoms can occur several hours before the event, sometimes days to weeks before. The direct trigger of sudden cardiac death is usually ventricular fibrillation.

Prevent a sudden cardiac death
To protect themselves, for example, people suffering from coronary heart disease (CHD) should specifically combat their cause. In addition to taking medication can also achieve much through a healthier lifestyle. Experts suggest that smoking should be stopped, that alcohol should be consumed in small amounts and that it should be balanced. Patients with diabetes or hypertension are advised to treat their illnesses. In addition, regular exercise is considered one of the best ways to reduce the risk of sudden cardiac death. However, excessive exercise should be avoided. (Ad)