Sudden Cardiac Deaths in the Young

Sudden cardiac deaths in young people are rare, and are typically the result of hard to detect, or entirely unknown, genetically-inherited diseases. Another common type of sudden cardiac death is hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), which occurs primarily in young athletes. Overlarge hearts, which often are a known and well-documented condition in an individual, can be a cause of sudden, often inexplicable death. There is a growing body of research on sudden cardiac deaths. Nonetheless, the causes and preventative measures of the disease aren't known.

Inherited Arrhythmia Syndromes

• Cardiac arrhythmia is a condition caused by electrical disruptions which increase or decrease an individual's heart rate at irregular rhythms. Frequently, this leads to sudden death that is often initially inexplicable, especially amongst young people. Research published in 2005 by Drs. Andrea Sarkozy and Pedro Brugada in the "Journal of Cardiovascular Electrophysiology" suggests that channelopathies, diseases caused by disturbed ion channels, are the source of genetically-inherited arrhythmia syndromes.

Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

• Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) is another leading cause of death amongst young people, especially among young athletes. The causes are largely unknown and those identified as possibilities are mostly conjectural. It involves a thickening of the myocardium, also known as the heart muscle. HCM claims, on average, the lives of 50 high-school athletes per year.

Overlarge Hearts

• Many people born with overlarge hearts become athletes due to their superior blood-pumping ability. Overlarge hearts can frequently be safely treated once identified. However, many doctors don't think that this treatment is necessary. One of the most famous cases of a person with an overlarge heart dying from heart problems was 28-year-old NCAA champion distance runner Ryan Shay, who died during the Olympic Marathon Trials in New York City in 2007.