Medical malpractice lawyers occasionally receive calls about a relative who has just seen his or her doctor, and then dropped dead a short time later from a “heart attack.” The caller questions how such a serious cardiac condition could be missed by the doctor. The chances are the fatal event was a “sudden cardiac death” (SCD), caused by ventricular fibrillation.
Studies have shown that up to 45% of people who’ve experienced SCD had been seen by a physician within four weeks prior to death, with 75% of those visits unrelated to a cardiovascular complaint. SCD is defined as a cardiac arrest within one hour of clinical onset of symptoms. The symptoms can be very non-specific, including fatigue, palpitations, and chest pain. SCD usually results from ventricular fibrillation, a condition that can occur very quickly and without a good opportunity to diagnose and treat it. Ventricular fibrillation is the result of disorganized electrical activity in the heart, causing it to quiver instead of pump efficiently.
At least 300,000 people die of SCD per year in the U.S., making it a major public health issue. A recent article noted: “The window of treatment for SCD is limited because ventricular fibrillation becomes quickly irreversible. Chances of survival after an out-of-hospital SCD are < 12%.” Chest compressions can double or triple the chances of survival, so emergency responders should immediately start CPR. The article also noted: “Implantable cardioverter-defibrillators that detect and treat ventricular fibrillation have radically enhanced the treatment of SCD. However, these devices need to be implanted before the onset of SCD.“ As malpractice attorneys, this speaks to the need for a proper workup prior to these conditions becoming acute - getting a proper cardio workup, via a stress test, for example. So, while SCD may be difficult to catch, some of the risk factors for the condition can be managed, or an implantable defibrillator may be indicated, decreasing the likelihood of an SCD event. Read the article here: [Instant Killers: five conditions to watch for. ](https://www.mdlinx.com/internal-medicine/article/5244) Read more about SCD and risk factors here: [Sudden Cardiac Death: Epidemiology and Risk Factors](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5014372/)
