Sudden cardiac death probable after heart attack, study finds

Rochester, United States, November 5: People who have experienced a heart attack are at an increased risk for sudden death from cardiacdefine arrestdefine, reveal the findings from the latest report.

The researchers found that the risk was highest in the month following a heart attack, which however declined rapidly as the time passed by.

Over the past three decades, there has been a significant improvement in the risk of sudden death after a heart attack, but the period of first 30 days remains a crucial time, spelling danger.

According to a long-term community study by Mayo Clinic researchers of about 3,000 heart attack survivors, people leaving the hospital after surviving a heart attack are at greatest risk of dying from sudden death during the period of 30 days. It can happen when the patient does not receive timely treatment, including cardiopulmonary resuscitation and defibrillation, to restore the heart’s malfunctioning.

The researchers studied the experiences of nearly 3,000 residents of Olmsted County at Minnesota who suffered heart attacks between 1979 and 2005.

According to Dr. Veronique Roger, a professor of medicine and epidemiology at the Mayo Clinic and a lead author of the study, “There are three key findings here that can be immediately applied to heart attack patients today. One is that the first month post-heart attack is the highest risk period for patients to suffer sudden cardiacdefine death - and acute surveillance is warranted. A second is that the risk drops rapidly after the first month, but this does not mean the patient is out of danger. Surveillance is still required after the first month because our third finding shows that even though the risk drops after the first month, the onset of symptoms of heart failure at any time after the heart attack markedly increases the risk of SCD.”

The study impresses upon the need for the doctors to stay in constant touch with their heart patients in order to keep a close watch on the developing symptoms, says Veronique Roger, M.D., M.P.H.. Physicians and patients - and their family members - need to be keenly alert for the symptoms of heart failure, as described by the American Heart Association, Dr. Roger reiterated.

There has been a long-term positive trend in the reduction of sudden deaths by 40 percent over the period between 1979 and 2005, feels Dr. Rogers, which reflects considerable medical advances in the care of heart patients.

Some of the common symptoms of heart failure include shortness of breath, fatigue, persistent coughing or wheezing, bloating and swelling. "We need to be particularly alert to monitor patients regularly for any sign of heart failure, to apply additional treatments, therapeutic and management options,” said Dr. Roger.

There was a need for implementing various treatment and management options including a variety of medications, from beta blockers to cholesterol-lowering statins to aspirin, along with good diet and lifestyle changes to keep the heart disease at bay.

The findings of the study, which is being regarded as one of the largest and most comprehensive community studies performed by reviewing integrated databases of the patient records, appear in the Nov. 5 edition of Journal of the American Medical Association.