Sudden death in young people: Heart problems often blamed

How common is sudden cardiac death in young people? Most deaths due to cardiac arrest are in older adults, particularly those with coronary artery disease. COVID-19:Advice,updatesandvaccineoptions Weareopenforsafein-personcare. Learnmore: MayoClinicfactsaboutcoronavirusdisease2019(COVID-19) OurCOVID-19patientandvisitorguidelines,plustrustedhealthinformation Lateston COVID-19vaccination bysite: Arizonapatientvaccinationupdates Arizona, Floridapatientvaccinationupdates Florida, Rochesterpatientvaccinationupdates Rochesterand MayoClinicHealthSystempatientvaccinationupdates MCHS Skiptositenavigation SkiptoContent ThiscontentdoesnothaveanEnglishversion. ThiscontentdoesnothaveanArabicversion. 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Millionsofelementary,highschoolandcollegeathletescompeteyearlywithoutincident.Ifyouoryourchildisatriskofsuddendeath,talktoyourdoctoraboutprecautionsyoucantake. Howcommonissuddencardiacdeathinyoungpeople? Mostdeathsduetocardiacarrestareinolderadults,particularlythosewithcoronaryarterydisease.Cardiacarrestistheleadingcauseofdeathinyoungathletes,buttheincidenceofitisunclear.Perhaps1inevery50,000suddencardiacdeathsayearoccursinyoungathletes. Whatcancausesuddencardiacdeathinyoungpeople? Thecausesofsuddencardiacdeathinyoungpeoplevary.Mostoften,deathisduetoaheartabnormality. Foravarietyofreasons,somethingcausesthehearttobeatoutofcontrol.Thisabnormalheartrhythmisknownasventricularfibrillation. Somespecificcausesofsuddencardiacdeathinyoungpeopleinclude: Hypertrophiccardiomyopathy(HCM).Inthisusuallyinheritedcondition,thewallsoftheheartmusclethicken.Thethickenedmusclecandisrupttheheart'selectricalsystem,leadingtofastorirregularheartbeats(arrhythmias),whichcanleadtosuddencardiacdeath. Hypertrophiccardiomyopathy,althoughnotusuallyfatal,isthemostcommoncauseofheart-relatedsuddendeathinpeopleunder30.It'sthemostcommonidentifiablecauseofsuddendeathinathletes.HCMoftengoesundetected. Coronaryarteryabnormalities.Sometimespeoplearebornwithheartarteries(coronaryarteries)thatareconnectedabnormally.Thearteriescanbecomecompressedduringexerciseandnotprovideproperbloodflowtotheheart. LongQTsyndrome.Thisinheritedheartrhythmdisordercancausefast,chaoticheartbeats,oftenleadingtofainting.YoungpeoplewithlongQTsyndromehaveanincreasedriskofsuddendeath. Othercausesofsuddencardiacdeathinyoungpeopleincludestructuralabnormalitiesoftheheart,suchasundetectedheartdiseasethatwaspresentatbirth(congenital)andheartmuscleabnormalities. Othercausesincludeinflammationoftheheartmuscle,whichcanbecausedbyvirusesandotherillnesses.BesideslongQTsyndrome,otherabnormalitiesoftheheart'selectricalsystem,suchasBrugadasyndrome,cancausesuddendeath. Commotiocordis,anotherrarecauseofsuddencardiacdeaththatcanoccurinanyone,occursastheresultofabluntblowtothechest,suchasbeinghitbyahockeypuckoranotherplayer.Theblowtothechestcantriggerventricularfibrillationiftheblowstrikesatexactlythewrongtimeintheheart'selectricalcycle. Aretheresymptomsorredflagsparents,coachesandothersshouldbeonthelookoutforthatsignalayoungpersonisathighriskofsuddencardiacdeath? Manytimesthesedeathsoccurwithnowarning,indicationstowatchforinclude: Unexplainedfainting(syncope).Ifthisoccursduringphysicalactivity,itcouldbeasignthatthere'saproblemwithyourheart. Familyhistoryofsuddencardiacdeath.Theothermajorwarningsignisafamilyhistoryofunexplaineddeathsbeforetheageof50.Ifthishasoccurredinyourfamily,talkwithyourdoctoraboutscreeningoptions. Shortnessofbreathorchestpaincouldindicatethatyou'reatriskofsuddencardiacdeath.Theycouldalsoindicateotherhealthproblemsinyoungpeople,suchasasthma. Cansuddendeathinyoungpeoplebeprevented? Sometimes.Ifyou'reathighriskofsuddencardiacdeath,yourdoctorwillusuallysuggestthatyouavoidcompetitivesports.Dependingonyourunderlyingcondition,medicalorsurgicaltreatmentsmightbeappropriatetoreduceyourriskofsuddendeath. Anotheroptionforsome,suchasthosewithhypertrophiccardiomyopathy,isanimplantablecardioverter-defibrillator(ICD).Thispager-sizeddeviceimplantedinyourchestlikeapacemakercontinuouslymonitorsyourheartbeat.Ifalife-threateningarrhythmiaoccurs,theICDdeliverselectricalshockstorestoreanormalheartrhythm. Whoshouldbescreenedforsuddendeathriskfactors? There'sdebateinthemedicalcommunityaboutscreeningyoungathletestoattempttoidentifythoseathighriskofsuddendeath. SomecountriessuchasItalyscreenyoungpeoplewithanelectrocardiogram(ECGorEKG),whichrecordstheelectricalsignalsintheheart.However,thistypeofscreeningisexpensiveandcanproducefalse-positiveresults—indicationsthatanabnormalityordiseaseispresentwhenitisn't—whichcancauseunnecessaryworryandadditionaltests. It'snotclearthatroutineexamsgivenbeforeathletesareclearedtoplaycompetitivesportscanpreventsuddencardiacdeath.However,theymighthelpidentifysomewhoareatincreasedrisk. Foranyonewithafamilyhistoryorriskfactorsforconditionsthatcausesuddencardiacdeath,furtherscreeningisrecommended.Repeatscreeningoffamilymembersisrecommendedovertime,evenifthefirstheartevaluationwasnormal. Shouldyoungpeoplewithaheartdefectavoidphysicalactivity? Ifyou'reatriskofsuddencardiacdeath,talktoyourdoctoraboutphysicalactivity.Whetheryoucanparticipateinexerciseorsportsdependsonyourcondition. Forsomedisorders,suchashypertrophiccardiomyopathy,it'softenrecommendedthatyouavoidmostcompetitivesportsandthatifyouhaveanICD,youshouldavoidimpactsports.Butthisdoesn'tmeanyouneedtoavoidexercise.Talktoyourdoctoraboutrestrictionsonyouractivity.   Thereisaproblemwith informationsubmittedforthisrequest.Review/updatethe informationhighlightedbelowandresubmittheform. GetthelatesthealthinformationfromMayoClinic’sexperts. 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Sorrysomethingwentwrongwithyoursubscription Please,tryagaininacoupleofminutes Retry ShareTweet Jan.09,2019 Showreferences PodridPJ.Overviewofsuddencardiacarrestandsuddencardiacdeath.http://www.uptodate.com/home.AccessedDec.15,2016. Suddencardiacarrest.NationalHeart,Lung,andBloodInstitute.http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/scda/.AccessedDec.15,2016. KaltmanJR,etal.Screeningforsuddencardiacdeathintheyoung:ReportfromaNationalHeart,Lung,andBloodInstituteWorkingGroup.Circulation.2011;123:1911. RisgaardB.Suddencardiacdeath:Anationwidecohortstudyamongtheyoung.DanishMedicalJournal.2016;63:5321. Aboutcardiacarrest.AmericanHeartAssociation.http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/More/CardiacArrest/About-Cardiac-Arrest_UCM_307905_Article.jsp.AccessedDec.15,2016. Preventingsuddencardiacdeathinyoungadults.AmericanCollegeofCardiology.https://www.cardiosmart.org/News-and-Events/2014/09/Preventing-Sudden-Cardiac-Death-in-Young-Adults.AccessedDec.15,2016. Suddencardiacdeathinathletes.MerckManualProfessionalVersion.http://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/cardiovascular-disorders/sports-and-the-heart/sudden-cardiac-death-in-athletes.AccessedDec.15,2016. PellicciaA,etal.Riskofsuddencardiacdeathinathletes.http://www.uptodate.com/home.AccessedDec.15,2016. SeemoreIn-depth SeealsoAutomatedexternaldefibrillators:DoyouneedanAED?BloodtestsforheartdiseaseTransplantAdvancesBrugadasyndromeCardiacablationInfographic:CardiacAblationCardiacamyloidosis—TreatmentoptionsCardiacamyloidosis—WhatisamyloidandhowdoesitaffecttheheartCardiopulmonaryresuscitation(CPR):FirstaidChestX-raysCoronaryangiogramCoronaryangioplastyandstentsCoronarybypasssurgeryDizzinessEchocardiogramEjectionfraction:Whatdoesitmeasure?Electrocardiogram(ECGorEKG)Hearttransplanttotreatdilatedcardiomyopathy:Elmo'sstoryFatigueHeartpalpitationsHearttransplantImplantablecardioverter-defibrillators(ICDs)JellyfishstingsNauseaandvomitingNuclearstresstestInfographic:OrganDonationDonateLifeOrgantransplantinhighlysensitizedpatientsShortnessofbreathSuddencardiacarrestTheLastBrother'sHeartTriathleteTransplantCoronaryangioplastyShowmorerelatedcontent Advertisement MayoClinicdoesnotendorsecompaniesorproducts.Advertisingrevenuesupportsournot-for-profitmission. 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