Life
Sudden cardiac arrest more likely in African Americans
They were also more likely than whites in the study to have conditions that prevent the heart from pumping enough blood to the body, have thick walls in the heart’s main pumping chamber and rhythm disorders.
One cardiologist not involved with the new study said the findings are a reminder for people to get regular checkups from their primary care providers.
“What we have to know is that there are a lot of latent diseases that can manifest in sudden cardiac death and many of these are preventable, including high blood pressure,” said Dr. Venugopal Menon of the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.
He cautioned that the new study should not necessarily be alarming, because the results are only based of the medical records of a relatively small number of black participants.
Chugh said the next step will be to also look at people who did not suffer sudden cardiac arrest.
“All of this work, this first step has been conducted in people who have a cardiac arrest,” he said. “Now we have to follow people who never had cardiac arrest.”
Source: Reuters
