Sudden cardiac deaths rise by 10% in young Americans
The number of adolescents and
young adults dying each year
from sudden cardiac arrest rose
by about 10% between 1989 and
1996, the first study of nationwide trends in the United States
has shown. The study was presented at the American Heart
Association's 41st annual conference on the epidemiology and
prevention of cardiovascular disease.
The number of sudden cardiac deaths in the 15-34 age
group went up from 2724 in
1989 to 3000 in 1996, an
increase of 10%. Of all the young
people who died over the eight
year period, 71% were men and
29% women.
US footballer Mia Hamm educates children on healthy eating - obesity may be contributing to a rise in sudden cardiac deaths (AP PHOTO/ GEORGE NIKITIN, FLEISHMAN HILLARD)
Although many more men
than women died, the rate of
increase was much higher
among women than among
men (32% compared with only
10%). The yearly rate per
100000 women was 1.6 in 1989
and 2.1 in 1996, whereas the rate
per 100000 men was 4.1 in 1989
and 4.6 in 1996.
"Explaining these trends will
require more scientific studies,"
said Dr Zhi-Jie Zheng, lead
author and epidemiologist in
the cardiovascular health branch
of the National Center for
Chronic Disease Prevention and
Health Promotion at the
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, Atlanta.
"But we can speculate that
some of the increase may be
related to the increased prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors, such as obesity, among
adolescents. It may also be due
to a poor rate of recognising
SCD [sudden cardiac death] in
younger patients and applying
cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
Unfortunately, we can't explain
why there is a large increase in
SCD among this age group of
young women. However, combined with the findings of our
previous study in an older age
group of women, we think this
trend is real."
Last November, Dr Zheng
reported at the association's scientific sessions that women aged
35-44 had a 15% increase in sudden cardiac death during the
same period. A breakdown of
the figures in this latest study
showed that 21% of the deaths
were among people aged 15-24
and 79% were among those
aged 25-34.
Death rates among those
aged 15-34 seem to increase
proportionately with each year
of advancing age. Death certificates showed that 36% of those
that died had ischaemic heart
disease; another 34% had
arrhythmia or cardiomyopathy.
Dr Zheng said that sudden
cardiac death is relatively rare
among young people and is often
preventable. Those at high risk
can sometimes be identified by a
family history of the condition.
David Spurgeon, Quebec
studentBMJ 2001;09:85-128 April ISSN 0966-6494
