Current behavior of sudden cardiac arrest and sudden death

Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) and sudden death (SD) continue to be a global public health problem, although the true incidence is unknown, it is estimated that they are responsible for 30% of cardiac origin mortality and may represent 20% of total mortality in adults. Unfortunately, the majority of cases occur in the general population, at the out-of-hospital level, in homes and in people who were not known to have heart disease. Although the majority of SCA victims are considered to be of cardiac origin and more frequent ischemic, it is not possible to rule out other causes only with the clinical diagnosis. Autopsy, histological, and toxicological studies are necessary in all victims of SCA and SD to determine the precise cause of death; when these studies are carried out, causes of non-cardiac origin have been found in up to 40% of victims. The type of arrhythmia responsible for an episode of SCA and SD has changed over the years, now asystole and pulseless electrical activity are detected more frequently than ventricular fibrillation or pulseless ventricular tachycardia. These and other aspects that we consider important in the current behavior of SCA and SD are analyzed in this article.