In an interview with HT Lifestyle, Dr Lakshmi Navya, consultant cardiologist at Manipal Hospitals Vijayawada, shared that sudden cardiac death occurs when the heart suddenly stops functioning, often within an hour, and can happen to anyone, even during physical activity like exercise or sports. She explained that addressing modifiable risk factors can reduce the likelihood of experiencing a heart attack. Also read | 52-year-old man dies of heart attack while working out at gym: Doctors explain how to prevent such tragedies
Dr Navya said, “Sudden cardiac death is the cessation of all life activities immediately within one hour. So nowadays we see many people who succumb to sudden cardiac arrest while working out at the gym, while walking on the road, or while playing sports, and all. So why does this happen so often?”
According to her, when the body exerts itself, the heart works harder, which can lead to stress and potentially fatal consequences, especially if there are underlying heart issues. Dr Navya said, “When the body is at rest, the energy requirement is also lower. When the body exerts, the heart needs to work more in accordance with the amount of work we do. When the amount of work increases, the heart is under stress. There is a surge of catecholamine activity in the body, which can lead to multiple factors.”
What causes sudden cardiac death?
Dr Navya shared that sudden cardiac death can occur due to pre-existing blocks – rupture of existing blockages in the heart, leading to massive heart attacks – or ventricular arrhythmias – abnormal heart rhythms, such as ventricular tachycardia or fibrillation, often genetically transmitted.
She said, “One being, if there are already pre-existing blocks in the heart, it can cause rupture of any pre-existing plugs, that is, any blocks that happen in the heart, leading to a massive heart attack. This is one of the major causes of sudden cardiac death. So by the time the patient reaches the hospital, there will be cardiac arrest because of the very high prevalence of massive heart attacks.”
She added, “And the second cause is ventricular arrhythmias. So there will be some inherent genetically transmitted diseases which can cause an increase in heart rate called ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation, which do not need have any pre-existing phenomenon. So this is the second most important cause, and the majority of the time, this is transmitted genetically.”
Increasing incidence of heart attacks can be attributed to?
So why are heart attacks among the young increasing? According to Dr Navya, the increasing incidence of young heart attacks can be attributed to genetic predispositions, familial hypercholesterolemia, and innate genetic disorders, as well as lifestyle habits like smoking, alcohol consumption, stress, poor diet, lack of sleep, and inadequate physical activity.
She explained, “The non-modifiable risk factors include those that are genetically transmitted, such as familial hypercholesterolemia, some lipid disorders, and some innate genetic disorders leading to early atherosclerosis. Hence, those are non-modifiable and not available to change in our hands.”
What are the modifiable risk factors? Dr Navya said, “The modifiable ones are the lifestyle habits that include smoking, alcohol, high amounts of stress, lack of sleep, junk food, and inadequate diet intake. So these and all cause the modifiable risk factors, which we do not follow. And also keeping in check hypertension, diabetes, the other metabolic syndrome parameters, that is, waist to hip ratio, abdominal circumference, keeping the weight in check, lipids in check, these are not commonly done very common. So these factors affect the formation of blocks in the heart, thereby causing massive heart attacks.”
Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition.