Sudden death

Sudden death

This phenomenon of a healthy heart ceasing to beat, often at a time when it is stretched to its limits, is hardly an affliction limited to sports, though it does tend to affect fit people more often than those who are unfit, possible because fitter people are more likely to push their heart to the limit. This may cause an existing heart condition to suddenly turn fatal.

There are certain warning signs which if taken seriously can prevent a heart condition from becoming fatal. Any sudden fainting episode should be taken seriously. If such an episode happens while exercising, it is even more significant. If the heart seems to skip a beat once in a while, that is a warning, as is a family history of any person below 30 years dying in similar circumstances. Deafness is associated with the same gene as sudden death, so that is another red flag.

Common causes of SCD(sudden cardiac death) include malfunctioning of the heart’s electrical circuit ( which provides it the stimulus to keep beating, or if the heart muscle which may, due to some inherent deficiencies- some of them congenital- not be able to translate that impulse into action. In simpler words, it is a condition triggered by a disruption in normal beating of the heart called arrhythmia. This condition is believed to claim some 4,000 younger lives around the world every year.

The lack of awareness also means that a potential patient is rarely ever picked up until t is too late.

Medical discourse on heart is disproportionately loaded in favor of coronary artery disease ( CAD), SCD &  its causes like long/short QT syndrome. Though not very rare, problems kike Brugada syndrome, dilated cardiomyopathy & Wolff Parkinson White Syndrome, are hardly ever talked about.

Dilated cardiomyopathy is a condition in which the heart becomes weak & enlarged & hence cannot pump blood properly. This is often caused by common a viral infection which means that working out while suffering from fly can result in far greater complications than resting for a few more days.

Another condition usually associated with athletes, called athletic heart syndrome, can predispose a person to sudden cardiac arrest. It can occur in any individual doing more than 5 hours of aerobic exercise per week or can even occur in people who do extensive weight training. The heart is enlarged & resting pulse rate is lower. In extreme cases, the amount of enlargement can actually reduce the heart’s pumping capacity. Even in moderate cases, the condition may bias the outcome of an ECG & thus prevent an existing heart condition from being picked up.

Screening with an ECG & an echo cardiography most often remains the only way of identifying patients. Anybody with a family history should undergo screening. Defibrillators should be made available in prominent public places & people should be trained in resuscitation.