LOS ANGELES -- Among children who suffered sudden cardiac death (SCD), significant risk factors included being black, Hispanic, older than 6 months, and living in the suburbs.
Victoria L. Vetter, M.D., and colleagues reviewed a dataset from 16 states from 2005 to 2009 in records maintained by the National Center for the Review and Prevention of Child Deaths. Among 1,099 cases of child cardiovascular deaths, the team identified 63 percent as SCD and 37 percent as non-sudden cardiovascular death. Prior conditions, identified in 49 percent of the children who died, included congenital heart defects, cardiomyopathy and arrhythmia, with most deaths occurring at home or school (30 percent) or in the hospital (40 percent).
In comparing SCD to non-sudden death, the researchers found significant differences in race, with SCD at 73 percent of cardiovascular deaths in blacks vs. 61 percent in whites. SCD occurred more frequently in suburban sites than in urban sites. The data may help researchers to better understand and prevent SCD.
SOURCE: Science CoDex