Some of the sudden deaths of young adults are preventable through family screening

sciencepics/epictura : fibrils muscle

Published the 26.01.2018 at 09h23

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Four cardiomyopathy in ten, a major cause of sudden cardiac death and heart failure in young people are hereditary, and therefore preventable, according to a study by the European Society of Cardiology, published today in European Heart Journal.
There is an urgent need to prevent sudden cardiac death premature young adult apparently in good health whose parents are suffering or have died from cardiomyopathy, indicates the newspaper. Cardiomyopathy is an alteration of the heart muscle that becomes thickened or rigid. When the disease worsens, the heart becomes weaker and less able to pump blood through the body.

Screening is essential

“We were surprised to see how often the disease was hereditary,” said the author princpal of the study Philippe Charron. “Therefore, it is very important to improve the screening to detect the disease in the parents appearing to be in good health “.
Two-thirds of the patients in the study were diagnosed through family screening, which includes an echocardiogram and an electrocardiogram to achieve in the family of a patient. The study also suggests that the recommendations should be modified so that the screening begins before the age of ten years and exceeds the current threshold of 50 to 60 years.

“The centres of expertise for the cardiomyopathies improve the diagnosis and management of these diseases in patients and their family members,” says professor Charron. “They help to prevent heart failure, and sudden death “.