Sudden cardiac arrest study
In a study of United States military recruits–including over 100 cases of sudden cardiac death–researchers have found that the leading cause of sudden cardiac death was a coronary artery problem.
This anomaly is when one of the coronary arteries takes off from the aorta in an abnormal fashion,” said lead researcher Dr. Robert E. Eckart, a cardiologist from Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas.
A deadly heart rhythm, known as an arrhythmia, surfaced as the second leading cause of sudden cardiac death in people with seemingly healthy hearts.
Given these findings, Dr. Eckart has changed his approach to treating young people complaining of chest pain. Whereas before he used an echocardiogram to screen for abnormal heart muscle, he now looks at the condition of the coronary arteries and administers an electrocardiogram (EKG) to detect abnormal electrical activity in the heart.
“By doing those two simple things, we are going to make a larger impact on sudden cardiac death in this young population,” Eckart remarked.
The team collected data on 6.3 million military recruits over 25 years.
COPYRIGHT 2004 Saturday Evening Post Society
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group
