LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – A new publication in a peer reviewed American Heart Association journal reveals that communication between health care professionals and relatives of those who died from cardiovascular causes are critical for the pursuit of genetic screening.
Roughly 4 to 5 million people die around the globe each year from sudden cardiac death when the heart stops suddenly and unexpectedly according to American Heart Association (AHA) 2023 heart disease and stroke statistics. In those younger than 45, sudden cardiac death is generally due to an underlying heart condition.
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“Sudden cardiac deaths in young people are rarely expected, leaving families with many questions,” the study’s co-lead author Katherine S. Allan, Ph.D, a researcher in the division of cardiology at Unity Health Toronto said in a statement. “Family members of sudden cardiac death victims rely on communication from death investigators and health care professionals to find answers about their relative’s cause of death. This can have a profound impact on families, including their ability to grieve and come to terms with the loss.”
While each state in the U.S. has various requirements for which deaths require investigation or autopsy, the 2020 joint American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology guidelines recommend genetic testing for all first-degree relatives of people who died from sudden cardiac death to identify other family members who may be at risk.
In an accompanying editorial by Kimberly Dukes, Ph.D., and Saket Girotra, M.D., M.S., they note that the study provides important communication lessons for family members about their own vulnerability to sudden cardiac death, while they are concurrently dealing with the trauma of a deep personal loss; they also cited a recent near loss for the National Football League.
“The events surrounding (American football player) Damar Hamlin highlighted the anxiety many of us felt during the initial days, given the uncertainty of his recovery from a cardiac arrest. Mr. Hamlin lived but most who experience sudden cardiac arrest die, leaving family members with even greater uncertainty about the cause of sudden cardiac death and their own risk,” they wrote in the editorial.
In early January, the NFL Buffalo Bills Safety Damar Hamlin, age 24, suffered from a sudden cardiac arrest on the field in a game against the Cincinnati Bengals resulting in a game postponement that was rescheduled later.
When interviewed by Good Morning America regarding what the doctors told him what happened, he paused for more than 10 seconds before responding.
“Ummm that’s something I want to stay away from,” Hamlin said.
Authors of the study suggested that while it was conducted in one Canadian province, the findings may be transferable to other populations. The study was conducted between 2014 to 2018 and found that the families of people who had died from sudden cardiac death rely on communication from death investigators and health care for two primary reasons. Firstly, to find answers about the cause of death for their relative, and secondly to understand their own risk for an inherited heart condition.
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