Lisa Salberg
05-22-2003, 09:07 AM
HEADLINE: Researchers suspect far more cases
SOURCE: Yorkshire Post
BODY:
LATEST studies by the British Heart Foundation suggest the number of people
who collapse and die without explanation could be much greater than recorded in
official statistics.
Researchers who surveyed coroners across the country estimated that there are
about 3,500 sudden deaths in apparently healthy adults aged 16 to 64 each year.
Most are due to previously un-detected electrical problems in the heart but
in about four per cent of cases no reason could be found despite a full
post-mortem examination. There remains no nationally recognised category which
can be used for such deaths and the charity says this creates uncertainty about
the true number of victims and brings further distress to families.
It has called for them to be formally classified as the adult equivalent of
cot death, which is recorded as sudden infant death syndrome.
The Foundation says that once this got an official label it was possible to
collate data, identify common causes and take steps to reduce deaths.
Support groups for victims' families have called for youngsters to be given
routine heart checks as they grow up as in some European countries.
Doctors believe further work examining the surviving relatives of victims
could provide clues to causes of the syndrome. Relatives of victims who have
died suddenly under the age of 35 are entitled to a free heart test on the NHS.
SOURCE: Yorkshire Post
BODY:
LATEST studies by the British Heart Foundation suggest the number of people
who collapse and die without explanation could be much greater than recorded in
official statistics.
Researchers who surveyed coroners across the country estimated that there are
about 3,500 sudden deaths in apparently healthy adults aged 16 to 64 each year.
Most are due to previously un-detected electrical problems in the heart but
in about four per cent of cases no reason could be found despite a full
post-mortem examination. There remains no nationally recognised category which
can be used for such deaths and the charity says this creates uncertainty about
the true number of victims and brings further distress to families.
It has called for them to be formally classified as the adult equivalent of
cot death, which is recorded as sudden infant death syndrome.
The Foundation says that once this got an official label it was possible to
collate data, identify common causes and take steps to reduce deaths.
Support groups for victims' families have called for youngsters to be given
routine heart checks as they grow up as in some European countries.
Doctors believe further work examining the surviving relatives of victims
could provide clues to causes of the syndrome. Relatives of victims who have
died suddenly under the age of 35 are entitled to a free heart test on the NHS.