Diagnosis - Sudden Death

It may seem strange to have sudden death under the diagnosis section of this website. However it is an important subject. Patients who are lucky to be resuscitated from a collapse (a so-called ‘cardiac arrest’), invariably go to hospital and receive appropriate investigations and treatment. Often cardiac arrest is due to narrowings in the coronary arteries (particularly in middle aged or older patients), and effective treatment can be given to prevent and treat recurrence. See treatment section, implantable defibrillator. There are also some conditions however that can be associated with sudden death which run in families. If a young person (under the age of 40) dies suddenly and unexpectedly, it is possible he or she died from one of theses conditions. These include hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, other cardiomyopathies, long QT syndrome, Brugada syndrome, and other rarer conditions. It is recommended that all first degree relatives (parents, children, siblings) undergo careful cardiac evaluation as most of these uncommon conditions can be readily diagnosed and effective preventative treatments given to any other family members who might be affected.

In addition to the above, scientific studies have started to identify people who feel well, but might be at risk in the future for dangerous rhythm disturbances. In these cases preventative treatment can be offered, commonly an implantable defibrillator. These are the ‘primary prevention’ reasons for implanting a defibrillator. See treatment section. This particularly applies to patients who have a weakened heart pump following a previous heart attack. It is recommended that patients who have suffered a heart attack in the past have an assessment of heart function, commonly an ultrasound scan, to help assess future risk. Those patients with very weak hearts might be suitable candidates for defibrillator therapy.