Can sudden cardiac death be hereditary?

Written by Li Hai Wen
Cardiology
Updated on September 14, 2024
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Sudden cardiac death has genetic characteristics, and common causes of sudden cardiac death mainly include the following aspects:

Coronary heart disease, angina, and myocardial infarction, especially acute myocardial infarction, often lead to sudden death in patients;

Secondly, long QT syndrome and Brugada syndrome are also common diseases causing sudden cardiac death and have genetic characteristics as hereditary arrhythmogenic disorders;

Thirdly, aortic dissection or pulmonary embolism. These diseases are usually not highly related to genetics but can also cause sudden cardiac death, hence sudden cardiac death is genetic.

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Written by Chen Guang Yin
Cardiology
34sec home-news-image

Is sudden cardiac death hereditary?

The majority of sudden cardiac deaths are caused by acute and extensive myocardial infarction, with some caused by malignant arrhythmias. Coronary atherosclerotic heart disease has a genetic history. Patients with such a family history, especially those with early-onset heart disease family history—that is, a family history of heart disease before the age of 50—should be given high attention. Heart disease has a genetic predisposition, and since sudden cardiac death is a type of heart disease, it also has a genetic predisposition.

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Written by Li Qiang
Intensive Care Unit
1min 19sec home-news-image

The difference between cardiogenic shock and sudden cardiac death

Cardiogenic shock is caused by a decrease in cardiac contractile function, leading to reduced ejection, lowered blood pressure, and resulting in ischemia and hypoxia of tissue cells. It is due to the reduced contractile function of the heart, which may be caused by coronary issues such as coronary ischemia, or by severe arrhythmias such as severe ventricular tachycardia or fibrillation, or by acute heart failure. Cardiogenic sudden death occurs when cardiogenic shock progresses further, leading to the cessation of the heartbeat. The main difference between cardiogenic sudden death and cardiogenic shock is that during cardiogenic sudden death, the heartbeat has definitely stopped completely, or there is only ventricular fibrillation, at which point it is called cardiogenic sudden death. During cardiogenic shock, the heart still retains some contractile function, meaning the heart still has some autonomous beating capability. Compared to cardiogenic sudden death, it is still an early, reversible stage of cardiogenic sudden death. Once it progresses to cardiogenic sudden death, immediate cardiopulmonary resuscitation is necessary, and at this point, the mortality rate greatly increases.

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Written by Xie Zhi Hong
Cardiology
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Can cardiogenic sudden death cause vomiting?

Sudden cardiac death is commonly seen in three scenarios. The first scenario involves severe arrhythmias, such as ventricular tachycardia, ventricular fibrillation, or cardiac arrest, which do not cause vomiting. The second scenario is due to severe valvular dysfunction caused by acute myocardial infarction or valvular disease, which also generally does not cause vomiting. The third scenario concerns patients with severe cardiac diseases who have mural thrombi in their hearts. If a thrombus detaches, it can lead to fatal systemic embolism. For instance, if the thrombus travels to the cerebral arteries, it can cause cerebellar or cerebral artery occlusion, leading to brain herniation. This may result in symptoms such as headache, nausea, vomiting, and limb dysfunction. If it travels to the mesenteric artery, it can cause gastrointestinal pain and result in vomiting. Therefore, some cases of sudden cardiac death may cause vomiting.

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Written by Xie Zhi Hong
Cardiology
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Is there a difference between sudden cardiac death and myocardial infarction?

Sudden cardiac death refers to the death of patients caused by various reasons such as cardiac enlargement, ventricular aneurysm, cardiac valve dysfunction, arrhythmias, and cardiac infections. Myocardial infarction leading to myocardial death is just one type of sudden cardiac death, mainly due to insufficient cardiac blood supply, leading to arrhythmias, heart failure, shock, acute death caused by the formation of intracardiac thrombosis, or death caused by complications after a heart attack. Therefore, the range of sudden cardiac death is quite broad, including myocardial infarction.

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Written by Chen Guang Yin
Cardiology
44sec home-news-image

The difference between sudden cardiac death and myocardial infarction

Sudden cardiac death and myocardial infarction are both types of coronary heart disease, but they are different from each other. Firstly, having a myocardial infarction does not necessarily result in sudden death. Myocardial damage involves a large area of necrosis in the heart, and the patient may experience symptoms such as chest tightness, shortness of breath, chest pain, and sweating. The main symptom of sudden cardiac death is the abrupt cessation of vital signs, with breathing and pulse disappearing. This condition can be caused by a large and extensive acute myocardial infarction, but it can also be caused by other reasons such as electrolyte disturbances or malignant arrhythmias, which are different causes.