Low sports-linked cardiac arrest risk
Wednesday April 8th, 2015
New figures suggest that the risk of sudden cardiac arrest while playing sport is lower than some may have thought.
Collapses
during sporting events can be headline-grabbing - but the new study says
they are rarer than might be expected.
A review of 1,247 sudden cardiac arrest cases was carried out by Dr Sumeet Chugh and his team at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute in Los Angeles, California, USA. Patients were aged 35 to 65 years. The majority (66%) of patients had a previously been diagnosed with cardiovascular disease or similar symptoms.
Analysis showed that just 5% of the incidents were clearly linked with sports activities - jogging (27%), basketball (17%), and cycling (14%). These were more likely to be witnessed and the patient given cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) than the other 95% of cases.
The CPR rate was 44% for the sports group compared with 25% for the remainder.
These cases were also more likely to involve the heart rhythm disturbance ventricular fibrillation - 84% versus 51%. Survival rates (to discharge from hospital) were also higher - 23% versus 14%.
Writing in the journal Circulation on Monday (6 April) the authors state that sudden cardiac arrest during sports activities is relatively low among physically active middle-aged adults. They estimate that per year, 2,269 sports-associated sudden cardiac arrest events occur among men in this age group, and 136 among women.
Dr Chugh says: "Our study findings reinforce the idea of the high-benefit, low-risk nature of exercise in middle age and emphasise the importance of education to maximise safety, particularly as the population ages and more baby boomers increasingly take part in sports activities to prolong their lives."
"For any kind of preventive intervention [such as CPR], education is very important and can be more efficient when provided in a targeted manner."
Marijon, E. et al. Sudden Cardiac Arrest During Sports Activity in Middle Age. Circulation 6 April 2015; doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.114.011988
Tags: Fitness | Heart Health | North America
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