Bystanders have increased survival rates after sudden sports-related heart attacks

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2022-01-18 06:00

International

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While those who play sport are just as likely to suffer a heart attack as they were 15 years ago, they are now three times more likely to survive the ordeal, according to international research. Researchers used French hospital data to analyse rates of sports-related sudden cardiac arrests and their outcomes from 2005 to 2018. Comparing the first two years of the study to the last two years, the researchers say the rates of sports-related heart attacks remain the same, but survival rates have increased threefold as a result of bystanders performing CPR or using defibrillators at higher rates. Middle-aged people were most likely to have a sports related heart attack, with one in 20 incidences occurring in young competitive athletes.

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conference: Journal of the American College of Cardiology

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: University of Paris, France

Funder: Funding was provided by the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM), University of Paris, French Federation of Cardiology. The Paris-SDEC activities are supported by the Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), University of Paris, Assistance Publique–Hôpitaux de Paris, Fondation Coeur et Artères, Global Heart Watch, Fédération Française de Cardiologie, Société Française de Cardiologie, Fondation Recherche Medicale, as well as unrestricted grants from industrial partners (Medtronic, St. Jude Medical, Boston Scientific, MicroPort, Biotronik, Zoll, and Schiller). The SDEC Executive Committee is part of the ESCAPE-NET project, a V10 million funding from the European Commission (Horizon2020 program) to develop research on sudden cardiac death in Europe. The authors have reported that they have no relationships relevant to the contents of this paper to disclose.

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