Sudden Cardiac Death News and Research

RSS

The term sudden cardiac death refers to natural death from cardiac causes, heralded by abrupt loss of consciousness within one hour of the onset of acute symptoms.

Heart Rhythm Society launches Boston Citywide Awareness Campaign

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has proclaimed May to be Cardiac Arrhythmia Awareness Month, calling attention to the need for greater public awareness throughout the Commonwealth about two serious heart rhythm conditions, atrial fibrillation and sudden cardiac arrest. To support consumer education about these potentially life-threatening disease states, the Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) has launched a Boston Citywide Awareness Campaign to increase knowledge about symptoms, warning signs and available treatment options.

2 May 2012

Cameron Health's subcutaneous ICD for sudden cardiac arrest receives FDA advisory panel approval

Cameron Health, Inc., a pioneer in the development, manufacture and distribution of next generation implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs), announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Circulatory System Devices Panel voted 7-1 that sufficient data exists demonstrating the efficacy and safety of the S-ICD System for the treatment of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA).

27 Apr 2012

UW researcher receives Dr. Harry L. Galanty Young Investigator Award

University of Washington researcher Jessie Fudge, MD received the Dr. Harry L. Galanty Young Investigator's Award for excellence in sports medicine research at the 21st American Medical Society for Sports Medicine Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Ga. on April 24, 2012.

26 Apr 2012

LVHT more common in afro-Caribbean athletes

Left-ventricular hyper-trabeculation (LVHT) - a feature of certain cardiomyopathies (chronic disease of the heart muscle) - has been found to be more common in black, male athletes according to a new study presented today at the World Congress of Cardiology.

19 Apr 2012

St. Jude Medical's Ellipse ICD receives CE Mark Approval

St. Jude Medical, Inc., a global medical device company, today announced CE Mark Approval of the Ellipse implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD). Designed with feedback from more than 200 physicians from around the world, the Ellipse ICD provides the benefits of advanced features and power in the industry's smallest high-energy ICD.

16 Apr 2012

Fish oil not as beneficial for the heart as thought: Study

Fish oil, a combination of omega-3 fatty acids that has attracted much research on its effects on heart health. So far, the evidence has been inconclusive -- some studies have found fish oil has been major in preventing heart attacks, strokes and sudden cardiac death, while others have found fish oil has no benefits at all.

10 Apr 2012

Heart cells starved of nutrients less likely to be damaged during ischemia, reperfusion

Heart cells starved of nutrients are less likely to be damaged during periods of decreased blood flow and sudden influxes of blood, known as ischemia and reperfusion, and are also less likely to get out of synch with their cellular neighbors, the damaging phenomenon called arrhythmia.

9 Apr 2012

Cambridge Heart fourth quarter total revenue decreases to $557,000

Cambridge Heart, Inc., a developer of non-invasive diagnostic tests for cardiac disease, today reported results for its fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2011. Full financial statements and corresponding commentary can be found in the Company's Form 10-K, which will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 30, 2012.

31 Mar 2012

EACP recommends minimum standards for emergency cardiovascular care at stadiums

Cardiac arrest during professional sports activities has occurred in the past. Unfortunately, this has not led to a general improvement of the situation in Europe. The recent case of British football player Fabrice Muamba is, regretfully, a sad reminder of the need to adhere to existing guidelines for the screening of athletes and for the safety in big gatherings, especially (but not only) in professional sports events.

22 Mar 2012

Hibernation may provide insight into arrhythmia therapies

How much calcium could a hibernating woodchuck's heart cells sequester, if a hibernating woodchuck's heart cells could sequester calcium? More than enough, it turns out, to protect the animals from cardiac arrhythmias - abnormal heart rhythms such as ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation that can lead to sudden cardiac death - according to a new study of the hibernating animals that may provide insight into arrhythmia therapies.

23 Feb 2012

Circadian rhythm can influence a heart attack

Researchers have found that a biological clock can influence a heart attack. The risk of “sudden cardiac death” peaks in the morning and rises again in the evening as shown in lab animals.

23 Feb 2012

Dual regulation by similar proteins may degenerate in heart failure

Sudden cardiac death is a risk for patients with heart failure because the calcium inside their heart cells is not properly controlled and this can lead to an irregular heartbeat. New findings published in PLoS ONE, which reveal mechanisms that underlie this life-threatening risk, provide new possibilities for fighting it.

23 Feb 2012

First molecular evidence links body's natural circadian rhythms to SCD

A fundamental discovery reported in the March 1st issue of the journal Nature, uncovers the first molecular evidence linking the body's natural circadian rhythms to sudden cardiac death (SCD). Ventricular arrhythmias, or abnormal heart rhythms, are the most common cause of sudden cardiac death: the primary cause of death from heart disease.

23 Feb 2012

International effort to define ECG interpretation standards in athletes

On Feb. 13-14, the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM) partnered with the ESC Sports Cardiology Section, the PACES, other leading U.S. cardiologists, BJSM, and F-MARC in an effort to define ECG interpretation standards in athletes and develop a comprehensive online training module for physicians around the world to gain expertise in ECG interpretation and the proper evaluation of ECG abnormalities suggestive of a pathologic cardiovascular disorder.

22 Feb 2012

CCF endorses bill to identify students at risk of sudden cardiac death

Senators Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ) introduced today during National Heart Month the Cardiomyopathy Health Education, Awareness, Risk Assessment and Training in the Schools (HEARTS) Act to the Senate.

18 Feb 2012

CMR highly effective in diagnosing life-threatening arrhythmias

New research from Western University, Canada, has demonstrated the benefits of performing Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (CMR) in cases where patients have been resuscitated after Sudden Cardiac Death or enter hospital suffering from ventricular arrhythmias.

15 Feb 2012

BPS Annual Meeting to be held Feb. 25 - 29 in San Diego

The latest news and discoveries in medicine, physics, environmental science, and interdisciplinary fields will be featured at the 56th Annual Meeting of the Biophysical Society (BPS), held Feb. 25 - Feb. 29, 2012, at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, Calif. With more than 4,000 poster presentations, 200 exhibits, 20 symposia, and 6,000 research scientists in attendance each year, the BPS Annual Meeting is the largest meeting of biophysicists in the world.

7 Feb 2012

FDA approves Medtronic DF4 High-Voltage Connector System for ICDs and CRT-Ds

Medtronic, Inc. today announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval and launch of the DF4 High-Voltage Connector System, a right ventricular lead and connector used with implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) and cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators (CRT-Ds) to detect and accurately treat potentially life-threatening heart rhythms.

From Medtronic 30 Jan 2012

Gilenya prevents and reverses symptoms of ventricular hypertrophy

A drug used to treat multiple sclerosis may also be effective at preventing and reversing the leading cause of heart attack, a new study has found.

30 Jan 2012

Two new studies focus on causes of arrhythmia and SCD

Researchers in Rhode Island Hospital's Cardiovascular Research Center have published two new studies focusing on the causes of arrhythmia and sudden cardiac death (SCD) when a genetic disorder is present.

18 Jan 2012