Sudden cardiac deaths ‘not on rise in Ireland’

Despite a number of recent deaths, the incidence of sudden cardiac death (SCD) in Ireland is not on the increase, according to a leading cardiologist.

About 40 to 50 people under the age of 35 die each year from SCD in Ireland — about one person a week. In approximately 75% of these cases, an autopsy will demonstrate the cause of death. The most common abnormal finding in these cases is narrowing of the blood vessels supplying the heart muscle, and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which is an inherited thickening of the heart muscle which can lead to fatal heart rhythm disturbances. In the remaining 25% of cases, the autopsy is normal and these cases are called sudden adult death syndrome (SADS) or sudden unexplained death (SUD).

In general, three quarters of people who die from SCD are male and only 10% of victims die during exertion.