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On a mild spring morning in 2017, Clare Sutton, a 31-year-old biology teacher, a single mother and one of my closest friends, was running a 10k race in the village [...]

Men are more at risk than women of dying suddenly from a cardiac arrest that is caused by irregular heart rhythms, a report from the National Audit of Sudden Arrhythmic [...]

Nonfatal myocardial infarction (MI, heart attack) occurs more frequently in the late morning, suggesting that sudden cardiac death might also exhibit a circadian, or 24-hour pattern. Mortality data were examined for 1983 from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health yielding 2,203 individuals who met the criteria, and the Framingham Heart Study, in which there were 429 other definite or probable sudden cardiac deaths. The study was complicated because diagnosis of sudden cardiac death is difficult because it can seldom be confirmed objectively, and because about one third of sudden cardiac deaths are caused by acute MI. Time of death is often unknown because many deaths are unwitnessed, especially at night. Also, the sleep-wake cycle is a better measure of circadian variation than absolute time of day. Sudden cardiac death is not uniformly coded in the International Classification of Disease system, so it was defined as death occurring within one hour of onset of symptoms. There was a pronounced circadian peak from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m., and an almost equal distribution over the other 21 hours. The variation was similar for men and women, and for all age groups. Increased physical and mental activity may play a role. It also suggests that sudden cardiac death may be a consequence of myocardial ischemia (decreased blood flow to the heart muscle) caused by blood clots, or it may be caused by a disturbance of the heart rhythm. Both are more likely to happen in the morning when systemic arterial blood pressure is at its highest, and clotting is rapid and natural clotting dissolving function low. Increased catecholamines, naturally occurring chemicals which stimulate the heart muscle, may also contribute to abnormal heart rhythms that could result in sudden cardiac death. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

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 [...]

CHICAGO - The rate of maternal cardiac arrest is higher than previously reported, but the rate of survival is also higher, and while the treatable etiologies have a favorable prognosis, [...]

What is sudden cardiac arrest? In sudden cardiac arrest, also known as SCA, the heart abruptly stops beating because of an electrical disturbance. When this happens, blood stops flowing to [...]

In addition to being the premiere address for success, EastRidge Properties maintains that the safety and health of its tenants is its highest priority. To that end, EastRidge has purchased [...]

Operation Heartbeart is a national, community-based initiative the American Heart Association has developed to improve the national sudden cardiac arrest survival rate. Of all people who suffer sudden cardiac arrest, [...]

The American Heart Association's goal is to have an automatic external defibrillator (AED), a miniature version of the defibrillators used by paramedics and doctors, in every workplace and public area. This would increase the survival rate from cardiac arrest from 5% to 20% by 2010. Cardiac arrest kills 225,000 each year, and it can kill in minutes. The AED is discussed along with the companies that now have the device and the training costs involved.