FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Ann-Marie White
Heart Rhythm Society
(202) 464-3476

Only one in ten student-athletes who experience sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) survives, according to a new study that examined exercised-related SCA events among youth in the United States. The study is the first to identify this extremely low survival rate among young athletes and is published in the June edition of the HeartRhythm Journal, the official journal of the Heart Rhythm Society.

Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is the leading cause of death in the United States, claiming more than 250,000 lives per year, and more specifically, the leading cause of death in young athletes. SCA occurs suddenly and without warning. The heart suddenly stops beating, so no blood can be pumped to the rest of the body. In essence, the heart's electrical system stops working. Approximately one case of sudden cardiac death occurs every three days in organized youth sports.

“The annual incidence of sudden cardiac death in young athletes is approximately one out of 50,000, and yet there is little knowledge about the survival rates of youth after experiencing an exercise-related sudden cardiac event,” said lead author Jonathan A. Drezner, MD, Department of Family Medicine at the University of Washington in Seattle. “Our study sought to monitor exercise-related sudden death in the U.S. and assess survival trends following exercise-related SCA in the youth.”

The study identified exercise-related sudden death events in youth through a systematic online search through public media reports from 2000 to 2006. A total of 486 cases of exercise-related sudden cardiac arrest in elementary school, middle school, high school and college students were identified over the seven year period. The average overall survival rate was 11 percent, ranging from four percent to 21 percent per year. Of the 486 cases identified, 83 percent were male and 17 percent were female.

Recognizing this poor survival rate among youth athletes experiencing sudden cardiac arrest will hopefully spark improved efforts towards prevention and emergency planning,” said Dr. Drezner. “It is critical for organized youth sports to be prepared for cardiac emergencies with strategies such as CPR training for coaches and prompt access to AEDs to protect athletes in their programs should a cardiac event occur."

For more information about this study, please visit www.heartrhythmjournal.com.