Who is at Risk for Sudden Cardiac Death?
Factors that can increase a person’s risk of sudden cardiac arrest and sudden death include: • Previous heart attack • Coronary artery disease • Ejection fraction of less than 40 percent, combined with ventricular tachycardia • Prior episode of sudden cardiac arrest • Family history of sudden cardiac arrest or SCD • Personal or family history of certain abnormal heart rhythms including long QT syndrome, Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome, extremely low heart rates or heart block • Ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation after a heart attack • History of congenital heart defects or blood vessel abnormalities • History of syncope (fainting episodes of unknown cause) • Heart failure: a condition in which the heart’s pumping power is weaker than normal • Dilated cardiomyopathy (cause of SCD in about 10 percent of the cases): a decrease in the heart’s ability to pump blood due to an enlarged (dilated) and weakened left ventricle • Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (a thickened heart muscl
