Sudden cardiac death in young adults is often due to heart-related causes

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2025-02-21 07:23

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About 60% of 18-to 40-year-olds who experience cardiac arrest outside hospital die before reaching one, according to a new review paper, and up to 16% survive to hospital discharge. The review, covering more than a hundred studies, found that most such cardiac arrests happened while people were resting or asleep. The majority who died outside of hospital had a heart-related cause like arrhythmia or heart disease, rather than non-cardiac causes like drug overdose or infection, and more than half had risk factors like diabetes or high blood pressure. The authors say those who reach hospital need thorough testing to find and treat the underlying causes, and this could include genetic testing if early tests don't identify a cause.