These premonitory signals that the heart sends before letting go

sudden cardiac death is defined as a natural death with sudden loss of consciousness within the hour of the start of the symptoms. ” THE Death syndrome sudden by arrhythmia was not sufficiently studied, desolate Dr. Matilda Frisk Torell from the University of Göteborg during a presentation at the 2025 Congress of the European Cardiology Society. However, it is one of the most frequent causes of sudden heart death in young people, including young athletes. »»

In order to determine possible Highlight signs In this type of death, the researcher relied on the Suddy cohort (Sudden Cardiac Death in the Young), bringing together 903 cases of sudden cardiac deaths that occurred for people aged 1 to 36 in Sweden between 2000 and 2010. With her team, she meticulously examined death certificates, autopsy reports, medical records, electrocardiograms (ECG) and family history.

Identifiable signs

Almost two thirds of the victims (64 %) were men, with a 23 -year -old median age. The study especially reveals alert signals that healthcare professionals could identify:

• 33 % of the victims had been hospitalized or consulted a doctor in the 6 months preceding their death;
• 4.2 % had already been hospitalized for syncope (compared to 0.41 % in the control group);
• 3.5 % had already been hospitalized for convulsions (compared to 0.14 %);
• 11 % suffered from a known arrhythmic disease;
• 18 % presented a pathological ECG, ventricular pre-excitation (premature activation of ventricles) being the most commonly observed anomaly.

In addition, 52 % of the victims had presented symptoms before their death : palpitations, nausea, vomiting or signs of infection. Finally, 17 % of cases had a psychiatric diagnosis and 11 % took psychotropic drugs.

With a better knowledge of the signs and symptoms that may precede sudden arhythmic death, we could identify young people at risk during medical consultations.

“Our results also highlight the Need to study psychiatric diseases and treatments further in depth as risk factors. The consultations prior to the practice of a sport are good opportunities to detect better, ”underlines Dr. Frisk Torell.

With health destination.

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