Dying Suddenly - Sudden Cardiac Death

Sudden death has been described throughout history. The ancient Egyptians inscribed on the tomb of a nobleman some 4500 years ago that he had died suddenly and without apparent cause. Sudden death was originally ascribed to supernatural causes, but even when medical science advanced to a stage where autopsies became available some deaths remained unexplained. Although the victims of sudden death were often found to have medical diseases, acute medical catastrophes were not often found. Not until MacWilliam in 1889 and Lewis in 1915 identified ventricular fibrillation as a cardiac cause of sudden death was the possibility that death may occur in the absence of an acute mechanical malfunction even entertained. At that time, however, their observations received little attention.

As antibiotics and modern surgical methods have eradicated many of the conventional "non-sudden" causes of death, sudden death has received more attention. Sudden death remains a major problem in the Western world and is the most common mode of death in adults less than 65 years of age. Cardiovascular diseases account for approximately 40% of all deaths, and approximately one-half of deaths from cardiovascular disease are sudden deaths. This suggests that nearly 20% of all deaths in the United States are sudden cardiac deaths. Although definitions of sudden death vary, it is estimated that 400,000 sudden cardiac deaths occur in the United States every year. Of these people who die, approximately 25% have had no prior symptoms or signs of heart disease.