Sudden Death can be predicted and prevented.

Don’t become a part of a statistics for Sudden Cardiac Death. These days, in Nepal, we see more and more healthy young people are dying suddenly without any previous known disease. Such conditions are known as “Sudden Cardiac Arrest” or “Sudden Cardiac Death”.  Although its cause and prevalence are poorly studied in Nepal, but Sudden Death has been extensively studied in Developed Countries and causes have been established.

Prevalence of Sudden Death of previously healthy people is between 10-15%. And Men die 3 times more than Females from Sudden Death.

Causes:

1. An Autopsy of healthy individuals, who died of Sudden Cardiac Death, showed that 70% of them had Coronary Artery Disease. The disease, when Cholesterol accumulates inside the blood vessels (arteries) that supply blood to your heart, a condition that doesn’t cause any symptoms. The first symptom is “Heart Attack” and/or Sudden Cardiac Death.
2. 25% of people who died of Sudden Death had other structural heart disease, due to High blood pressure, rhythm abnormalities, valve problems, genetic and birth defects, etc.
3. Remaining 5% of patients didn’t had any structural heart disease in autopsy, but probably had some underlying Arrhythmia prone condition, maybe even with genetics and by birth, which were diagnosed in some of the individuals who survived Sudden Cardiac Arrest.

Risk Factors: Are you at risk of Sudden Death?

If you fall under any of the below mentioned, then you are at the risk of Sudden Cardiac Death.

1. Cigarette Smokers. A study revealed the Cigarette smokers are at the highest risk for Sudden Death, making smoking a most dangerous risk factor for Sudden Death.
2. Exercise: Irregular vigorous Exercise. A risk of Sudden death is increased during vigorous exercise and 30 minutes immediately after the exercise. This how ever is not true if you exercise regularly. But if you do not exercise for a month or so and suddenly decide to run 400 meter dash, or mountain bike for few hard kilometers, or try to run a marathon, or play vigorous football, then this is also a risk for Sudden Death.
3. If you have high cholesterol or triglycerides, which can lead to symptom-less Coronary Artery Disease (read above), which alone is 70% cause of Sudden Death.
4. High blood pressure- if not under control will change your heart structurally, which later can lead to heart failure and/or to arrhythmia which leads to Sudden Cardiac Death.
5. Physical Inactivity: If you lead Sedentary lifestyle without regular physical exercise, then you are at risk of Sudden Death.
6. Obesity: More fat the people are, more the chance of Sudden death.
7. Diabetes
8. Family history: if any of your first blood relative died of premature (age less than 50 years) death due to heart disease, then you are at risk of Sudden Death.

Sudden Death is Preventable.
95% is in YOUR hands to prevent Sudden Cardiac Death.

What you should do?

1. Quit Smoking and any form of Tobacco
2. Exercise regularly. Regular = 5days a week. Exercise = anything that makes you sweat and get out of breath, e.g. brisk walking 5 kilometers in one hour, dancing, cycling, swimming, playing badminton. CAUTION: Irregular Vigorous Exercise itself is a risk for Sudden Death (read above).
3. Check your Cholesterol (lipid profile) levels regularly and have them under control.
4. Check and control your Blood Pressure
5. Check and Control your Sugars.
6. Maintain your body weight. Forget BMI and other complex formulas. Simplest formula to follow is decrease 100 cm from your height (in cm) = is you ideal body weight in Kgs. For example if your height is 160 cm = your ideal body weight is (160-100=) 60 kgs.
7. Screen for Coronary Artery Disease, which is 70% cause of Sudden Death. Most cost effective, safe and easiest way to screen for Coronary Artery Disease is by doing Treadmill Stress Test (TMT) every year. TMT alone can predict and prevent 70% chance of Sudden Death and added to this other Tests like Sugar, Lipid Profile, consulting doctor can prevent more than 90% chance of Sudden Death.

Conclusion:
To simplify matters and save you from Sudden Death and other life threatening diseases – Advanced Poly Clinic has been conducting life saving Executive Health Check up Package since last 10 years and have already prevented 100s of Sudden Death and 1000s of other life threatening diseases.

NOTE: If you do all the regular tests but skip TMT, then your status of Coronary Arteries remains unknown and you might even die the very next day from Sudden Death.