Related Experiment Videos
Two monitored cases of sudden death outside hospital
Insights
Sudden cardiac death in active coronary artery disease patients can occur without acute myocardial infarction symptoms. Continuous electrocardiogram monitoring revealed fatal arrhythmias like cardiac arrest and ventricular fibrillation as the underlying mechanisms.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Sudden Cardiac Death Research
Background:
- Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a leading cause of mortality.
- Sudden cardiac death (SCD) outside the hospital is often unrecorded.
- Mechanisms of SCD in active CAD patients require further elucidation.
Abstract:
Two patients known to have coronary artery disease died suddenly outdoors while active. Neither had symptoms or signs of acute myocardial infarction. They were being monitored by continuous tape recording of the electrocardiogram at the time of death. In one patient the cause of death was cardiac arrest, preceded by bigeminy and multiform ventricular ectopic beats, in the other ventricular fibrillation preceded by atrial fibrillation, multiform ventricular ectopic beats, and ST depression. These observations are added to the limited reported cases in which the mechanism leading to sudden death outside the hospital is recorded.